


The Final Bell (NCT127 Zombie Apocalypse AU)

by taffysamg



Category: Kpop - Fandom, NCT, NCT127
Genre: F/M, KPop AU, Other, Zombie, Zombie AU, Zombie Apocalypse, kpop, kpop x reader, nct - Freeform, nct au, nct127 - Freeform, nct127 zombie au, x Reader, zombie apocalypse AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:40:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 23
Words: 40,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26496529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taffysamg/pseuds/taffysamg
Summary: A world decimated by biological warfare and mutually assured destruction wasn't exactly ideal, but you can make the best of it... right? As the zombies begin to outnumber humanity at spine-shattering speeds, who will you get by with? Join Jaehyun, Yuta, Taeyong, WinWin, Jungwoo, Johnny, Haechan, Mark, Taeil, and Doyoung as you attempt to survive your impending deaths.(Story and its prequel also posted on Quotev, Wattpad, and Tumblr)
Relationships: Doyoung x Reader, Johnny x reader, Jungwoo x Reader - Relationship, Taeyong x Reader, X Reader - Relationship, Yuta x Reader, haechan x reader, jaehyun x reader, mark lee x reader - Relationship, taeil x reader, win win x reader
Comments: 10
Kudos: 38





	1. Ringing Ears

The pain was practically unbearable. Y/N had barely opened her eyes when it hit, sinking into every cell of her body and taking over her mind. There wasn't a bone in her that didn't feel broken. Her lungs struggled to pull in air and her skin stung. As her vision swam, she tried to pull herself up. The best she could do was barely make her way into a sitting position. 

The air around her was arid, the sky a sickening shade of yellow. Everything was dusty and reeked of old meat, and the wind blew dirt into her eyes. Shielding her face, she swallowed a few times, disgusted as she tried to clear her throat. Once she could finally make out her surroundings, she started putting the pieces together. 

She was lying on an asphalt bed- the center of the street. Every pane of glass in the windows of the buildings around her was shattered, bricks tumbling out of the foundations. There wasn't another person in sight, but there were occasional smoldering fires that indicated a recent presence. She almost laughed, thinking to herself how her family used to warn her against running into the road. 

Wait... her family! They were probably worried sick- or worse, were they alive? Why had this happened? The last thing she remembered... Think... Think... At first, she recalled a few weeks ago. Tensions were high between practically every country on Earth. People were beginning to question if there would be a third world war in the near future. Of course, this wasn't necessarily uncommon, so she hadn't been too worried about it. 

It kept coming back to her as she remembered a later news broadcast... more recent... China had just created a biological experiment. By tweaking a version of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, they believed they had created a perfect biological weapon that they were now threatening other countries with. It had worked, for a time at least. People began allying with them, convinced by the promise that the disease was perfectly controllable. That is, until the U.S. got involved. 

America began to defend the idea that biological weapons were a war crime, and they were more than prepared to crack down on this rule. By using disease as a weapon, one was dragging civilians into the mix. A fight was closer than ever. Y/N racked her brain for the rest of the details. Obviously, based on her surroundings, something had happened, but... what? Finally, she decided to figure out where she was and try and make her way back home. She was bound to remember eventually, right? 

As she stood up, she hissed through her teeth, bones cracking. Obviously she had been there for a while. Looking herself over, though, she was just bruised. She began to walk down the street, recognizing various buildings. Soon enough, she found herself in a familiar area. It was at least a 30 minute walk to her house, but she began without hesitation. The monotony of the journey gave her some more time to think, in which she recalled a bit more. 

China had launched what they believed was their complete bioweapon. Obviously, they chose to use it on the United States, their main contender. It wasn't long before things got out of hand, and with some of the biggest airports in the world, the states quickly spread the disease. Some countries retaliated with bombs, others with full-on military attacks. This wasn't the worst of it, though. Eventually, practically the whole planet was infected. 

The bio-weapon was meant to kill people, of course. Less people, less bodies in your fighting force, less money-makers, less of a chance of winning a war. The thing is, it didn't kill people. At first, this may seem alright. It most definitely was not. 

See, this virus was originally derived from Creutzfeldt-Jakob, also known as Mad Cow Disease. To make it dangerous to humans, it was also spliced with some tendencies aligning with rabies. What resulted was a viral, blood-transmitted disease that caused deteriorating brain function, fear of water and sensitivity to bright lights, abnormal digestion and nutritional needs, and a rotting body. It turned people into zombies. 

A zombie apocalypse- that's it, that's what she was missing. Now she had to watch out for these "zombies". Her gut twisted. Y/N couldn't even remember what they looked like, but the little pieces of information that she had retained were already scaring her half to death. Not only that, but she was terrified of what she might find should she return home. Still, there was little other option. She had to check on her family, and maybe get some clean clothes if she were lucky. 

The walk was taking her South, closer to areas where people were living. So, too, she began to see people. Much to her dismay, not a single one of them was alive. Thankfully, she didn't know anyone who she laid eyes on, but it didn't stop her from feeling disgusted as she saw scattered limbs and tattered corpses. It was hard to tell what exactly had killed them, especially as she was trying to avoid looking at them. Twice on her way, she found herself throwing up in the street. The only reason she didn't after that was the lack of food in her stomach. 

It wasn't long before she became thirsty. Every store in the area had smashed windows and splintered doors, so she didn't even bother checking inside. Even if there was anything inside, (which was doubtful), she'd feel bad stealing. Stupid, she knew, but it didn't change the fact that she wasn't going to go rooting around in abandon facilities. 

About five minutes away from her house, she heard something in the distance. It sounded like... church bells? More specifically, one very large church bell. It was getting louder the longer it rang, echoing through the empty area. She tried to ignore it, but it was starting to annoy her. It wouldn't be long before she was home, so she continued tuning it out. That was, until she was knocked to the ground. 

Sputtering as dirt flung into her mouth, she scrambled to get up. 

"What the hell!" She shouted, looking around trying to figure out what had happened. Lying a few feet away, rubbing his head in pain, was a man. He was maybe just below six feet tall, limber, and covered head to toe in what looked like leather and camouflage. A various assortment of blades were seated in his belt. A black cloth bag had slid a short distance away from him, filled to the brim with some unknown articles. 

"Don't yell at me, you're the one who walked out right in front of me." He grumbled, quickly jumping to his feet. 

"Wait-" he continued. "Fuck! We need to get out of here!" 

"I don't even know who-" 

"Now!" He leaned down, grabbing her wrist and harshly jerking her to her feet. Before she could yell at him any further, he began running in the direction she had been coming from. Because of his height, he was much faster, so it wasn't long before she fell behind and wrenched her hand out of his grip. 

"You can't just drag me wherever you're going! I don't know who you are, or what you're doing, or what's going on! I need to go see my family! Go to my house!" 

"Look, I'll explain later, stop being difficult and come on-" She stamped her foot. 

"Absolutely not." 

"Did you not hear the bell, woman? What's wrong with you!" 

"I don't even know what the bell is! You're going to answer me, or I'll be on my way!" Sighing angrily, he bent down to make direct eye contact with her. 

"My name is Jaehyun. I am running. And the bell is an indication as to when an area has been overrun."

"Overrun? By what?" She asked. Before he could answer, though, she heard a growl behind her. Spinning around, her eyes widened. Coming out of alleys and tripping down the street were tens, if not hundreds, of people. They all moved in relative synchronization, making their way down the street. They weren't normal, though. 

Their flesh was a strange, purpleish-red color, and their eyes were milky and glossed over. Zombies. Unlike the zombies in movies, though, these guys could move. Fast. In fact, they were quickly approaching, evidently targeting the two standing in the road. 

"By those! Now let's go!" Evidently distressed, Jaehyun began to run, with or without his new acquaintance. Panicking, she followed, trying to keep up. The creatures were slowly but surely falling behind. She glanced back occasionally, watching their movements. They occasionally collapsed, whether from their rotting bodies or their lousy depth perception of the obstacles in front of them. If one of their own fell in front of them, they would quickly be trampled. 

"Stop looking and keep running!" He reprimanded her. Looking forward, she saw that they were headed in the direction of a car- a black van. As they approached, she could tell there were more people inside, but the only face she could make out was the man in the driver's seat. The rest were concealed by the tinted windows. Slinging both the passenger and the back door open, Jaehyun pointed. 

"Get in." She hesitated. 

"I don't know if-" Aggravated he stepped up into the passenger seat. 

"Or don't, run for all I care." That was the only convincing she needed. She jumped into the van, shutting the door behind her. Hey, if these guys didn't kill her, the zombies would.

"Drive-" He said to the man at the wheel, who quickly shifted into Drive and stepped on the gas. She glanced around the car, mostly keeping her eyes to the floor. There were two people in the seats behind her, plus Jaehyun and the driver. The man controlling the car was much shorter. He had blonde hair, but his roots were over an inch long, indicating that he hadn't dyed it in quite a long time. He turned to the only person she now knew. 

"Who's your friend?" Jaehyun looked back to her, then to the man driving. 

"I don't know, I found her on my way back." 

"And you didn't even ask her what her name was?" He responded. 

"What's your name?" She jumped as she felt someone directly behind her lean forward, asking the question. She turned quickly, coming face to face with one of the boys in the backseat. He was shorter than Jaehyun, but definitely taller than the man in the driver's seat. He had a big smile across his face, which was strange considering the situation. 

"I, uh... Y/N?" He laughed, sitting back again. 

"You don't seem too sure, Y/N!"

"I..." 

"Chill out, just messing with you. Stop being so jumpy! I'm Mark, that-" He pointed at the man driving. "Is Taeil. That's Jaehyun-" She already knew that one. "And in the back is Jungwoo." She looked to the man that Mark had mentioned last. He seemed fairly passive, straight hair falling slightly into his face. He nodded, as if to acknowledge her stare, but said nothing. 

"So, what brings you into our car, Y/N?" Mark asked. Evidently he was the most talkative out of all the boys. 

"Jaehyun brought me." She muttered. 

"Well, duh, we figured that out. I mean why are you out there by yourself? And why get so close to the zombies?" 

"I just... woke up. I was passed out in the street, I don't actually remember much." She admitted. "I was trying to get home when I ran into him." 

"Literally." Jaehyun groaned, examining his forehead in the cloudy car mirror. 

"Sorry." She said. 

"Don't worry about it, he probably deserved it." Mark consoled her. "Anyway, we have a camp set up about 15 miles from here, so it shouldn't be long before we get there. If Taeil would stop driving like a grandmother." 

"The speed limit is 55." The blonde man shot back. 

"It's the apocalypse. There aren't any police. What is wrong with you." He didn't respond, but didn't speed up, either. Mark just rolled his eyes. "If they keep up that pace, they'll reach the camp in, say... three hours? That should give us time to move out. Honestly, it's unlikely they make a direct beeline, but can't be too safe, right?" 

"That would mean they have a 12 minute mile." Y/N looked at him, astounded.

"Yeah? So what?" 

"I thought zombies were supposed to be slow." He looked at her blankly for a moment. 

"You're kidding, right? It's a miracle you've made it this long."

"Yeah, she didn't even run at the bell." Jaehyun added. 

"I didn't even know there was a bell!" She defended herself, slouching, annoyed.

"It's fine, we'll show you the ropes." Mark said, pointing through the windshield. "See? We're nearly there!" Peering through the windshield, she found that he was right. Just on the edge of the horizon, there were several cars and tents. She could even just barely make out the forms of a few people walking around. She took a deep breath as they approached, her situation beginning to dawn on her. She was still dirty and terrified, but maybe it would be okay. At least, she hoped so...


	2. Let's Go Shopping!

When the group arrived at the campsite, Taeil brought the car to a slow stop, shifting into park and and unbuckling his seatbelt. (He was the only one who had been buckled in the first place.) Only then did he unlock the doors. Mark crawled past Y/N, being the first to jump out of the car. 

"Hey!" He waved his arms, grinning. "We're back!" Taeil and Jaehyun stepped out much more calmly, and Jungwoo waited for her to exit the vehicle, shutting the door behind him. The first person to address them was a calm-looking boy with longer hair. 

"Welcome back. What did you manage to find?" Mark looked to Jaehyun, who had been carrying the bag. 

"Just the last few bits of non-perishable food, and some medical stuff." The boy in question answered, holding the tattered bag out. The first man nodded, grabbing it. 

"Anything helps. Did the bell ring?" 

"Yeah, we're thinking maybe three hours, on the safe side?" The man nodded a second time. 

"I'll let everyone know- we kind of figured we couldn't stay long." Before walking away, he looked to Y/N, then back to the boys. 

"Is she with you?" 

"Yeah, this is Y/N." Taeil said. "Jae picked her up on his way back from town. Says she passed out, can't remember much, figured he'd help out." 

"What a Good Samaritan." Another voice cut in. He sounded a bit like Mark, if not a bit more grating. "Pleased to meet you." He held out a hand. She didn't move. Shrugging, he continued. 

"I'm Haechan. This is Yuta." The quieter boy, who she now knew was 'Yuta', looked to Haechan. 

"Can you show her around? I know we're leaving soon, but it's probably better if she meets everyone. Plus, we normally set up the same way." Haechan whistled disappointedly. 

"I'd love to, but I'm actually helping with inventory right now since Taeil went out." Yuta looked over, suspicious. 

"Then why are you out here?" 

"Good point! I'll leave you to it!" He walked off in a direction that was definitely not towards anything having to do with inventory, but Yuta ignored it. 

"Fine, I'll see if Taeyong can do it." He looked to Y/N. "I'd show you around myself, but I have to get this stuff stored and start packing up. These guys just got back, so they deserve their downtime. Taeyong's kind of our unofficial leader anyway, so it's better that you meet him."

Taking this as their dismissal, Jaehyun and Jungwoo began to walk off, Mark catching up closely behind. Taeil stayed next to Yuta, who told him that he'd be to the storage tent in a moment. Satisfied, the boy walked off, leaving just Yuta and Y/N. 

"Last I checked, Taeyong was in his own tent, so we're gonna head to center." Y/N nodded, not wanting to say anything out of place. She was still taking everything in. It wasn't a long walk, and soon they were at faded green tent. Yuta attempted knocking, which wasn't too easy on fabric. After receiving no response, he called out, 

"Taeyong! We have a guest, can I come in?" After a moment, a muffled voice returned. 

"Yeah, of course." 

Unzipping the front, Yuta pulled the flap out of the way, stepping in. It was pretty roomy for a tent, but the ceiling was low enough that they had to sit down. In front of her was a much younger-looking man than she had expected. He was fairly thin, sitting cross-legged and reading a book. He had one earbud in, the cable linking to an old-school MP3 player. He was sitting on top of a sleeping bag next to a fold-out table littered with random items. Y/N looked curious, but neglected to say anything. Strangely, he noticed this fairly quickly. 

"If you have a question, you can just ask." He said. His voice was soft, but definitely confident. He seemed interested in her, if only in a logistical way. 

"How did you get music in the apocalypse?" She asked. She immediately regretted it- it was fairly stupid, after all. He laughed, but not rudely, just amused. 

"I had this before everything went to shit." He waved the tiny device. "We do have one computer, but it's pretty useless without WiFi. Thankfully during the first few days of this disaster, Doyoung downloaded terabytes full of data, so we have a good bit of knowledge stored up. Not much music on it, though." Doyoung... she hadn't heard that name yet. 

"If you ever need music, Taeyong's your guy." Yuta explained. "He makes it sound like he doesn't but I think he has every known genre on that thing." Taeyong laughed again, pulling his other earbud out. 

"Anyway, you're not here to talk about that. What can I help you both with?" Yuta cut in to explain. 

"Jaehyun found her in the neighborhood we just raided. She doesn't remember much, and they figured she could use the help. The boys are all busy, and we were hoping you could at least talk to her, if not show her around?" Taeyong stretched, preparing to get up. 

"Sure, I don't mind. What's everyone doing?" 

"Packing up- we have to move again." 

"Ah. Anyway, I'd be happy to show..." He looked to her. "I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name?" 

"Y/N." 

"Y/N- I like it. Well, Y/N, we should be on our way, then." Crawling out after Yuta, he stood outside, cracking his knuckles. "And Yuta- make sure Haechan actually does something." The boy nodded, walking off to another tent. Taeyong looked to her, hands on his hips. 

"So, would you prefer to start from here, or the front?" As this was one of the first questions she'd been asked apart from her name, she struggled to find an answer for a moment.

"Uh, I... From here is fine?" He nodded. 

"Alright, let's get started then." 

They walked the campsite, visiting various tents and clearings. Each tent was either uniquely colored or had a label indicating it's function. The big black tent was for storing resources, the orange tent was for medical supplies and treatment, the assorted blue and green tents were sleeping quarters, the clearing in the middle with the fire pit was for cooking and eating, the grayish-purple tent was for weapons, and the areas around the camp were for cars. 

"Most of the cars are actually just stolen from the next town over. We bring them here, take the parts we want, pump out the gas, and leave them here as a barrier until we move. We all basically travel in the black van, and one person drives the old Ford with the extra stuff." He pointed to a beat up car. 

"Generally Taeil drives the van and Jungwoo takes the car, but it can switch off. Can you drive?" Y/N nodded. 

"I'm not the best, per se, but I can handle a car." He smiled. 

"That's better than some of these guys can do, so that's already helpful." At that, his eyes widened slightly. 

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to even ask- are you thinking about staying? Not to be blunt, but it's a matter of planning." 

Oh... was she staying? She didn't really have anywhere better to go, and going solo didn't seem like the best option, but she didn't even know these men. Still, they had taken her in, and seemed alright... Worst case scenario, they killed her, right? The zombies would do that anyway. Finally, she decided. 

"Yeah, if... if it's not too much trouble? Safety in numbers, right?" He nodded. 

"That's what we're hoping, at least. So, you haven't been inside any of the tents- except for mine, of course. Any interest? I can't promise the guys will want you in their spaces, but the public stuff it definitely up for grabs." 

"I mean, not to be high-maintenance, but I'd like to see all of them." He waved a hand. 

"No trouble at all! Let's hit the med-tent first, it's right over there." Taeyong led her to the orange tent, unzipping the flap and stepping inside. This tent was significantly taller than Taeyong's, leaving room to stand. There were two cots inside, as well as a few crates. On one of these crates sat Jungwoo, and another Jaehyun. The former was pushing the other's hair out of the way, shining a flashlight into his eyes. 

"You don't have a concussion. It'll just bruise." Jungwoo said. 

"I told you." Jaehyun grumbled, standing up to leave. Instead of the exit, though, he came face to face with the touring pair. "Oh, hey Taeyong. Y/N." 

"Jaehyun- what happened? Did you get hurt on the raid?" Taeyong asked, concerned. He shook his head. 

"No, just knocked heads with the new lady." He gestured. "I told him I was fine, but he wanted to check it out anyway." 

"Speaking of which, you sit down as well." Jungwoo demanded, gesturing to her. Surprised, she shuffled over, sitting down on the crate. "Look at my eyes, don't move." She did as he told, meeting his dark eyes as he shone the LED in her face. He grabbed her jaw, slowly moving her head left and right.

"This doesn't seem like medical equipment." She commented awkwardly as he checked her pupils. 

"It's not- we do the best we can. Thankfully, there are plenty of first aid kits in all those houses, so we have a surplus of bandaids and disinfectant." Clicking the light off, he seemed satisfied. "You're fine. If anything, I’d say you’re severely dehydrated, but that’s all.”

"See?" Jaehyun said. "You keep acting like we're all made of glass. You don't need to check up on us every time something hurts. You'd make me come in if I had a hangnail." 

"What if you pulled the hangnail out, touched something with zombie-virus on it, became infected, and killed everyone before we could catch the disease?" Jungwoo shot back. Jaehyun just huffed, grabbing for the tent flap. 

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be in my tent." After Jaehyun had exited, Taeyong began to go a bit more in detail. 

"We pick up whatever medical equipment we can find when we raid towns. Jungwoo is kind of our impromptu physician. As you can see, he worries, but he's pretty good at it." Jungwoo shut his eyes, clearly embarrassed. "Anyway, thanks, man! We're gonna head to the weapons tent." 

Not long after, they had made their way to the purple tent, which was significantly smaller. This was likely because it didn't need to house so many people. The inside was sparse, housing only large wooden crates with bold black letters on the sides. Among them were, "Gunpowder", "Bullets", "Explosives", and "Blades". 

"Actually, while we're here, we should get you a few weapons. You shouldn't be walking around unarmed. What do you like?" This surprised her. 

"I'm not really familiar with anything in particular." He stared for a moment, and then laughed. 

"Oh, sorry, I should have realized. Everyone kind of has their preferences. Just look around, see if anything catches your eye. I need to switch out a few anyway, and pack some stuff. Take your time." 

Out of curiosity, she started with the box labeled "explosives". True to the name, it was full of fireworks, a few grenades, makeshift tinfoil bombs, gasoline, and even half-empty bottles of vodka. The bottom of the crate was littered with flint and lighters. Obviously, it wasn't the safest setup, and nothing really looked that appealing. She wasn't trying to accidentally blow her own head off. 

After looking around another few minutes, she finally opened the "Blades" box. Originally, she had been worried, scared to find bloodied, rusting, scary knives. Instead, she was met with clean, well-polished blades of all assortments. There was everything from kitchen knives to full-on swords. Immediately, one caught her attention. 

It was completely black, the edge slightly shinier. It was definitely bigger than a knife, but shorter than a sword, about a foot long if she had to guess. She swung it once, surprising Taeyong. 

"Woah, watch where you put that!" He laughed awkwardly. "That's a classic, though. Did you used to watch zombie movies?" She shrugged. 

"Not particularly." 

"Huh. Well, you're welcome to it. Maybe grab a pocket knife as well, for utility. You should also pick out a gun." 

After attempting to do what he asked, she finally had to request his assistance in picking a gun. Amused at her oblivious nature on the subject, he picked out a common handgun- a Glock 19. He took a few minutes showing her how to load and fire it, giving her a few boxes of ammunition as well. Soon, her arms were full of, well... arms. 

"We should probably get you a belt for all that stuff. We can go the storage tent next." This tent was evidently the largest out of all of them, with at least three separate support sections. It was full to the brim of 50-gallon plastic containers, all labeled in different handwritings. There were a few people inside- Yuta was loading a box, saying something that she didn't catch to Taeil. Surprisingly, Haechan was there as well, although he wasn't doing much. As far as she could tell, he was occasionally throwing random items into boxes basketball-style. 

"Ah! Y/N!" Yuta called as he caught her eye, walking over. "Hope everything's been going well." Looking to her arms, he laughed. "I see they already have you packing. I assume you're here for a belt?" She nodded. "Well, you're in luck. Jaehyun made a few the other day." Walking away and digging in a nearby bin, he pulled out a black belt. 

It was obviously makeshift, as the original belt was a slightly different color. Still, the stitching was fairly neat, covering the appendage with loops and pockets. Yuta pointed as he explained. 

"This is for a handgun, and these pockets are for ammunition. This big loop is if you have to carry a rifle, but it doesn't seem like you have one, so don't worry about it. This loop is for a larger blade, like a sword or that machete, and the rest are for smaller knives." Grabbing it from his open palm, she looked it over. 

"This seems really detailed." She commented. 

"Jaehyun's good with weapons, so he knows what's good to carry. Don't make fun of him for the sewing, he's actually kind of proud of it. Also, he'll probably kill you." This distressed her slightly. Jaehyun was not sounding like someone she wanted to hang around. Still, the other boys seemed comfortable, so she said nothing. 

"So, there's not much to see here. We keep food, water, cooking appliances, wood, miscellaneous stuff, clothing-" 

"Clothing?" Y/N found herself asking. She was already feeling dirty in her old clothes, and who knew how long she had been wearing them. 

"Oh, you're probably looking for some new threads." He realized. "That doesn't seem very protective." 

"Or clean." She added. He shrugged. 

"Yeah, I guess. Taeil!" The other boy stopped what he was doing, looking up. "Can you help Y/N go through the clothes?" He nodded, waving her over.

Taeil led her to the back of the tent as Yuta started up a conversation with Taeyong. He popped the lid on a blue bin, explaining the wild organizations. 

"Those are shirts, jeans, pants, underwear, masks and bandanas-" She watched as he started opening other lids. Digging through the pants bin, she quickly realized that this would be harder than she thought. 

"I... don't suppose you have any... girls' clothes? Or something smaller?"

"Hmm?" Taeil looked back to her. "Oh... oh, right. We uh, don't usually pick up anything that we wouldn't use ourselves... sorry." She shook her head.

"No, it makes sense... I'll figure it out." She kept digging for something a bit smaller. 

"Here," Taeil offered, "You pick out something that works for now, and we can go visit Johnny while the others pack up." 

"Johnny?" She asked. Yet another name she was unfamiliar with. 

"Yeah, he's kind of known for having a lot of random stuff. I'll bet he has some better clothes on-hand. He doesn't live near here, so I'll drive you out. It's hard to explain, you'll just have to see. I'll go tell Taeyong, you pick something out." 

She nodded, turning back to the bins. After a few more moments of searching, she settled on a pair of black skinny jeans (that weren't so skinny on her), an oversized red shirt with a black collar and accents, a new pair of socks, and the best-fitting black boots she could find. Satisfied that there was no one around, she changed, thankfully uninterrupted. She looked herself over in the absence of a mirror, fairly pleased with the look. The belt full of weapons was definitely an unfamiliar sight, but it made her feel badass at least. Walking out to where the boys were still standing, she caught the tail end of their conversation. 

"Haechan, you go and load up. Maybe you can actually be helpful." Taeyong said. "I'll go with Taeil to Johnny's, and we can make sure none of the guys need anything while we're out." As Y/N approached, he looked to her outfit. 

"Oh, good you found someth-" He stopped.

"What, is something wrong?" She asked, worried that she looked stupid. 

"No, no, sorry. Just caught me off guard. You have good taste- that's WinWin's shirt." WinWin. Yet another person she hadn't met. 

"WinWin? Doyoung, Johnny? You have to introduce me to all these people." She said, already exasperated by the amount of names she was forced to remember. 

"Sorry, I know it's a lot." Taeyong smiled apologetically. "Doyoung is almost always in his own tent, and Johnny doesn't live in the campsite with us. WinWin, uh..." He swallowed hard, eyes shifting to avoid hers. 

"WinWin is no longer with us." Yuta finished for him, obviously seeing him struggle. 

"Oh, I- I'm so sorry-" Y/N sputtered, trying to figure out what to say. "I can change if-" Taeyong collected himself, smiling sadly. 

"No, no, you're fine. We don't carry around all of this stuff just for show- you're welcome to wear it. I should tell everyone the new plans, I'll see you all later- call me when you're about to leave!" He was evidently faking his cheery attitude, but no one was about to call him out on it. Taeil waved Haechan and Yuta back to what they were doing, leading Y/N out of the tent. 

"Sorry about that. Taeyong sort of blames himself for WinWin... we all do. It's no accident that we're this well coordinated... we had to learn the hard way." She, once again, didn't know what to say. Obviously, the pseudonym 'WinWin' paved the way for plenty of jokes, and- once again obviously- none of them were appropriate. She didn't know him at all, but it still felt somber for some reason. 

"I'm sorry..." Was all she could muster. He shook his head. 

"No, I'm sorry for making things so... sad. We should get ready to go, I'll call Taeyong." Pulling a black device off of his own belt, he spoke into it. 

"TY! We're rolling out, over." At this, she realized it was a walkie-talkie. 

"What's the range on that?" 

"Hmm?" He looked to the device. "Oh, about ten miles. It has twelve channels, though, so we don't get much interference. It was originally a lot lower, but Doyoung boosted them pretty well." There was the name Doyoung again. 

"The computer and the radios? He seems like a tech guy." Taeil shrugged. 

"Yeah, he kinda does all our electronic stuff. He's alright with helping me fix up the cars, too. Everyone just sort of... took up a place. You'll find something you're good at, too. We'll go get you your own radio afterwards." Right on time, Taeyong walked up. He had clearly recollected himself well, showing no signs of ever having been shaken up. 

"Alright, let's get on the road! We'll take the van, and they'll load up the Ford while we're out." Taeil held out the keys to him. 

"Do you want to drive?" He shot a dirty look. 

"You know I can't." Laughing he spun them on his finger. 

"Still funny." 

"It's really not." 

They walked to the van, Taeyong choosing to sit in the middle row with Y/N rather than shotgun. 

"Are you gonna scan channels?" Taeil asked, receiving a nod from the leader. As they pulled out, Taeyong began meddling with his own radio. 

"What are you looking for?" Without looking up, Taeyong paused.

"Johnny is usually nearby. He doesn't really have a choice, as we all live according to the zombie's migration patterns. Still, he's kind of an ass, and always switches what channel he's on. Sometimes he won't even pick up. We're kind of forced to just check every channel until something comes up." His eyes lit up after a particularly loud burst of static. 

"Hold on, this might be him." Holding the device to his mouth, he said, "Johnny? This is Taeyong, we're looking to come grab some stuff. Where are you? Over." It was silent for a moment, humming in and out. Taeyong seemed annoyed. 

"It's definitely him." This confused Y/N.

"Really? It doesn't sound like anyone's there to me." He sighed. 

"Sometimes he won't even answer unless it's 'interesting'. He glanced her over. "Thankfully, I think this will intrigue him." Putting the plastic to his lips again, he said, "We're looking for clothes. Girl's clothes. Over." Sure enough, it was only seconds before they got a response. A deep, crackling male voice rang over the radio. 

"Happy to help, supreme leader Tae! I'm about four miles Northwest of your campsite. I'm sort of in the middle of closing my stuff up, though, so make it quick." Taeyong looked to her with a sort of 'I told you so' look, then linked eyes with Taeil in the rearview mirror. 

"You hear that?" 

"Yep, headed Northwest."

And with that, they started their drive towards Johnny. He seemed all too strange for Y/N, but she didn't really have a choice. She could only hope that things would go smoothly. Taeyong had told her to ask questions if she was curious, but... she didn't want to interrogate them the whole way home. Finally, she simply settled into her seat, gazing out at the barren wastelands.


	3. Baby Doll

Y/N stared out the window, unsettled by what she saw. Everything was dry and windy, and the air was heavy. While she knew pollution must be down, everything had that solid tension about it. Taeyong and Taeil were making small talk, but she wasn't particularly listening. Every now and then, they'd pass an abandoned vehicle or a pile of trash, but aside from that she noticed no signs of life. While she was lost in thought, she was brought to attention by a voice.

"...Y/N!" She sat up quickly, looking around. Taeyong was staring at her intently. 

"Sorry, I was... thinking." 

"It's fine- I was just trying to let you know that we're here." He said, pointing towards the windshield. Sure enough, there was a small campsite in front of them as they slowed to a stop. There were two tents, a few boxes, a small grill, and a black Toyota Tundra. She was nervous to meet this character, but didn't want to show it in front of her two associates. Stepping out of the van, they walked into the center of the space. 

"Hold on." Taeil said to her, moving to the tent on the right. Stomping in the dirt next to the structure, he said, "Johnny! We're here." After a bit of rustling, the front unzipped, and a man stepped out. 

He was certainly taller than anyone she had met so far- six feet if she had to guess. He had defined features and faded red hair, although- like Taeil- it was evidently not his real hair color. He was definitely thin, but stronger than Taeyong and Taeil. He wore a pair of old jeans, a green shirt, and a leather vest, with combat boots to match. Out of all of this, though, one thing in particular caught her off guard. 

His left arm- or rather, where his left arm should have been- there was a purple, twitching appendage, sewed on with black surgical stitches. While it's nails were clean and the flesh seemed to be staying on fairly well, it was unmistakable: a zombie arm. 

She involuntarily stepped back, but before she could move away, he grabbed her wrists, holding her arms above her head and turning her in various directions. 

"Hmm, interesting." He eyed her up and down, mentally measuring her. "I'm sure I can find something that fits you." Uncomfortable, she jerked her arms, ripping them away from his grip. He looked surprised for a moment, before his face settled into a questioning grin. 

"What's the matter? Can't you talk?" She tried to say something in return, but only managed to open her mouth slightly. Staring at her for another moment, his expression shifted to understanding. 

"Ah, I see. You think I'm turning." He waved his purple arm. "I assure you, sweetheart, you have nothing to worry about." Pointing to the stitching with his good hand, he said, "This isn't my real arm. I made her myself. The wound is closed underneath, so quit your shaking." Well if that wasn't the riskiest thing she'd ever seen, she didn't know what was. 

"What happened to your real arm?" She managed to mutter. He laughed, reaching up to touch her face with his left hand. The skin was disgustingly cold, leaving a tingling feeling wherever it touched. She knew it was probably in her head, but she already felt infected as he felt her face. 

"I cut it off." He whispered playfully. Backing up and spinning on his heel, he pretended as if he had not just been incredibly creepy. "Keeps you on your toes, you know? Reminds you how fleeting this all is. It does have a mind of its own, though." He admitted, evidenced by its twitching. She was more than uncomfortable at this point, staring at the seam between his human and undead bodies. So he had... cut off his own arm, and sewed on this zombie one, for fun? Or as he called it, a 'reminder'. This dude was unhinged. 

"Quit messing around, Johnny." Taeyong said, stepping in and pulling her back. Thankfully, his hands were warm, and undoubtedly human. "We just need new clothes for her, all our stuff at camp doesn't fit well." 

"Yes, yes, I know. Like I said, I'm sure I have a few things her size. So demanding. You won't be leader for long if you act like that." 

"I'm not the leader." Taeyong muttered under his breath, crossing his arms and shifting his glare.

"Sure. Anyway, I'll return momentarily. Feel free to look around." He offered, turning to Y/N. "You can go wherever, but just be prepared for what you find." With a wink that sent a shiver up her spine, he moved towards the back of the setup to open a box.

"Don't mind him." Taeil said, sensing her discomfort. "He's just strange like that. Plus, he's probably upset that we didn't bring Mark." She had practically forgotten about Mark at this point- she hadn't seen him since they exited the van the first time. Assumedly, he had gone to his own tent. 

"Why would he care?" She asked. "Are they related, or friends, or something?" Taeil shook his head. 

"Not exactly. Mark's just his favorite for some reason. He's never explained it to us. Still, Taeyong doesn't like them to be together for too long. I think he's worried that Johnny will make too much of an impression." That made sense. Mark seemed like a nice dude, and she couldn't imagine what Johnny could do if he got a complete hold on him. Before Taeyong could cut in to explain further, Johnny returned. 

"Here, I found four complete outfits of your size. It's not exactly ideal, but it's all that'll fit. I guess you guys will just start doing laundry more often, or suffer with ill-fitting attire. There are also two pairs of shoes, some makeup if you're into that, and some sanitary stuff." Holding out a bag, she reluctantly took it. As much as she hated it, it was all stuff she needed. "I also threw a few sets of earrings in there. Wouldn't want your piercings to close up." 

She breathed in sharply. In the few seconds that he had looked at her, he not only assessed her exact sizes, but the fact that she had piercings as well? Not only that, but she didn't actually have jewelry in at the moment, meaning that he had noticed the tiny holes. He was unnervingly observant, to say the least. 

"Do you need any earrings, boys? You've both had those studs in for quite a while." 

"We're fine." Taeil said shortly. Johnny sighed, almost like an annoyed child. 

"Shame. You two are so boring. Still, that reminds me-" He addressed Y/N directly again. "I can do pretty much any tattoo or piercing you might want, just let me know." Scrunching her gaze, she questioned,

"Can you do a clean tattoo without proper equipment?" Johnny feigned offense. 

"My, do you have no faith? I happen to have done plenty of tattoos post-disaster. In fact, I've done more than a few for your friends over there. Speaking of which-" he walked over to drape his arms across the boys' shoulders. "Is she planning on matching you all?" 

"Matching?" She asked. Clearly without asking them first, Johnny grabbed both their shirts. Pulling up Taeyong's sleeve and the bottom hem of Taeil's shirt, he revealed very similar tattoos. Each was in a delicate script, a list of some kind. Looking closer, she read them.

Taeyong

Jaehyun

Yuta

WinWin

Haechan

Mark

Doyoung

Taeil

Jungwoo

Johnny

The final two names were slightly brighter, alluding to the fact that they had been added later. The line through WinWin's name was also a bright shade. 

"Do all of you have these?" She asked, eliciting a nod from both of them. 

"We debated on the line, but decided that it would be appropriate. We'll be using it if, god forbid, anything happens to anyone else. Johnny added himself when we went to get Jungwoo added." Taeyong shot an annoyed look at him. "Still, he helps us out, so I have no right to complain."

"So, will you be adding this lovely lady to your ranks?" Johnny asked, dropping their clothing from his fists. 

"I'd have to talk to everyone, but maybe if she sticks around." He glanced over. "Have you gotten a tattoo since all this started?" He asked. She shook her head. She was already dreading the idea of having Johnny's dead hand anywhere near her, not to mention a discomfort around needles. She would definitely have to think about it. 

"Well, I'm always ready to ink someone up." He concluded, gesturing to Taeil again. "I've done more than a few of his little art pieces." She had to admit, the tattoos covering his body were very skillful. Everything fell silent for a moment, but she was brought to attention by the clap of a hand. 

"So! To discuss my payment." Johnny smiled, causing her stomach to drop.

"Payment?" Of course. No one gives anyone anything for free. What kind of payment did a psycho like this take?

"Yes, honey, payment. I have to survive out here! Generally one earns something through the exchange of goods-" He snaked a hand around her waist, causing her to shiver again. "And/or services." 

"You owe us, Johnny." Taeyong said matter-of-factly, gently brushing him off and dragging Y/N back to where he was standing. "We saved your ass when you were clean out of food and three seconds off from getting eaten alive." He put a hand to his chin thoughtfully. 

"Oh, so you're cashing in for the little lady? He must really like you." He said with a shrug. "That's a shame, baby doll, but you'll be back. I look forward to it- you're intriguing." Leading her away from Johnny's camp, Taeil and Taeyong brought her to the van, facing away from the man. Still, he called,

"Nice meeting you, sweetheart!" 

"Her name is Y/N." Taeyong shot back. "Have some decency." And with that, they got in and began their drive back home. She watched out the back window as Johnny simply stood, staring as they drove into the distance. He stood stone still until Y/N could no longer make out his figure. 

"I'm sorry if that was strange." Taeyong murmured apologetically. "I know he's not... ideal. Still, he generally has anything we might need, and honestly I don't know if we'd have made it without him. I would have talked to him myself, but he needed your size." She shook her head, trying to seem unfazed. 

"It's fine." 

"You'll only have to go again if you need a tattoo or something, other than that you can stay behind if you'd like." She nodded. She didn't really feel like talking anymore, and both the boys respected that. They had maybe an hour left on their three hour prognosis, so things would be busy when they returned. She wondered if she could find some monotonous task to help with to take her mind off the afternoon's events.


	4. First Blood

They returned to an entirely different campsite. Most of the tents were gone, leaving patches of crunchy, flattened grass in their places. There was a thin littering of unsettled dust, likely because of all the movement. Haechan and Yuta were moving boxes to a stack, preparing them to be loaded into the van. Jungwoo was putting a few accessories into the second car, but seemed mostly done with his tasks. Mark was saying something to Jaehyun, although they were far enough away that it couldn't be deciphered. Still, it was easy to tell that Jaehyun was in his usual mood, while Mark was obliviously carrying on.

The van pulled up, Taeil coming to a slow stop as he had on her first ride. Before he exited, Taeyong turned to her. 

"I'm going to help the guys finish up. My tent is still set up, so you can go try on some of those. I know Johnny's not the most trustworthy, but I promise they're safe." 

"He even has a mirror stashed under his books." Taeil snickered. Taeyong glared. 

"Really?" He sighed. "Anyway, he's not lying. You can use it, I'll be over to break everything down in a bit, so be quick." She nodded, popping the side door. Several of the men looked over, nodding in greeting, but said nothing. She made her way as best she could to where she thought she remembered Taeyong's tent being. Finally, she came to a faded green structure. Quickly unzipping it and slipping inside, she jabbed her thumb under the hem of her shirt. 

Whatever light had been illuminating Taeyong's tent earlier that day was now off, so it was incredibly dim. Remembering his words to be quick, she decided to start undressing as her eyes adjusted. After pulling off her shirt, she decided to look for a lamp. Strangely, the sleeping bag was still there, but there were no books. Instead, there were a few boxes and stripped wires littered across the floor, as well as a notebook and some loose papers. When had Taeyong found the time to start packing? And why wouldn't he warn her?

Suddenly, the tent flooded with light, but not from a lamp. Rather, someone had opened the tent. Rushing to cover as much skin as she could, she twisted towards the light, eyes wide. Staring back at her was a dark haired, unfamiliar face. At the same time, both of them screamed. 

"What the fuck?!" The man shouted, covering his eyes hastily. She gathered up her shirt at her stomach, struggling to put it back on. "Why is there a girl in my tent!?" She stuttered, pushing past him to try and get out, but rather than escape she only managed to trip the both of them. In a matter of seconds, both were tangled up in the dirt, making quite the scene. 

"Ah, Y/N. I see you've met Doyoung." Taeyong laughed, helping her up out of her mess. 

"I- I thought- your tent, I-" She tried to explain, pointing in random directions and rambling. 

"Hey, it's fine. I was just coming to check on you- I should have realized that you couldn't tell all the resident tents apart." He put a hand on the back of his neck, facing his colleague. "Sorry, Doyoung. That's my bad." The now red-faced boy was looking directly at the ground, muttering random, jumbled sentences under his breath. Finally, he said, 

"It's fine." Before slipping into his tent and promptly zipping it behind him. With that over, Taeyong pointed her in the correct direction, giving her another few minutes to change. Once she was inside, she finally got a chance to breathe. She carefully laid out the clothes, separating them by function.

Surprisingly, there was a lot to work with, as it was folded neatly. There were two pairs of black jeans, one blue, and one pair of shorts. There were several clean bras and pairs of socks and underwear as well. Assuming that he thought T-shirts were readily available to her, there was only one. The other three were an assortment of nicer tank tops, and to top it off, a leather jacket. The bottom of the bag was even more interesting. It had bottles of over-the-counter pain medication, feminine products, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion. There were also a few makeup palettes, including a foundation matching her skin tone, as well as makeup remover. Finally, there was an assortment of cheap earrings, bracelets, and other accessories, along with black studded boots.

She was astounded. Changing into a black pair of jeans, a red top, clean underwear, and the boots, she dug for Taeyong's mirror. There were tiny mirrors in the makeup palettes, but this one was infinitely better. Holding it up to her face, she realized just how truly terrible she looked. There was faded black... something under her eyes, (probably mascara or eyeliner) and her cheeks were sunken in. She looked incredibly tired. At this, she realized that she hadn't eaten or drank since she had passed out. At all. 

Much like some sort of cartoon, the second she realized this, the thirst and hunger overtook her body. Her throat felt like the Sahara and her stomach began crying out in pain. Doubling over, she clenched her belly. She stuck her head outside for a moment, seeing nobody around. Desperate, though, she exited and ran towards the still-standing storage tent. Thankfully, there were a few boxes left. 

Popping a crate, she grabbed two cans of soup- all that was in there. It wasn't long before she spotted a crate labeled "Water" as well. Grabbing two bottles of that as well, she snuck towards Taeyong's tent again. Once back inside, she quickly scarfed down all four containers in a matter of minutes. Breathing a sigh of relief, she already felt better. Still, the speed upset her system, and she had to sit still for another few minutes to keep from throwing up. 

"Hey, are you still in there, Y/N?" A familiar voice rang from the outside. Taeyong. He clearly hadn't seen her make her food run. She didn't know why, but she felt embarrassed. She didn't know these people's rules and she was already eating their food. 

"Yeah, sorry, I'm still changing." 

"Uh, no problem. Just come find someone when you're done." Once she was satisfied that he had walked away, she looked into the mirror again. The color and life were already returning to her skin. She pulled out the makeup wipes, cleaning her face up.

"Let's see what I can do..." she muttered. 

Maybe twenty minutes later, she was finally okay with her face. She wasn't a complete girly-girl per se, but she did like to keep her appearances up. The earrings were a nice touch, as well. She shuddered, remembering her encounter with Johnny. He had somehow correctly ascertained her clothing size, skin tone, piercings, and most unsettling- bra size, from a mere glance. She had the sneaking suspicion that those skills may have been pre-apocalypse. Still, she didn't have time to think about it now. 

Leaving the tent, she saw everyone gathered near the van. She strode up nonchalantly at first, but as she got closer, she realized that they seemed fairly distressed. Yuta was saying something to the group. 

"I'm telling you, they're not even ten minutes out- I don't know what happened! You can practically feel the ground shaking, though, we have to leave now." Jungwoo cut in, voice stern, but in his usual soft tone. 

"We can't. The storage tent is going to be at least another 15 minutes to pack up, and that's assuming we get most of everyone to help. Taeyong still has to pack up his tent, too." Shit. She had taken too long. At this, Taeyong's eyes widened. 

"Fuck! Y/N is still in there! One sec, I'll-" As he turned around, he almost ran into her. "Oh, thank God, you're here. Look, the zombies are a little closer than we thought." 

"Thanks for nothing, Mark." Jaehyun jabbed. 

"I swear they were three hours out, at least!" Mark tried to defend himself. 

"This isn't the time to fight!" Taeyong reprimanded them both. "Jungwoo, you finish up the medical stuff and help break down storage. Haechan, Yuta, you two as well. I'll handle my own tent. Doyoung, I need you to get Y/N a radio right now and then pack up your own tent as well. Jaehyun, Mark, you two take Y/N and hold them off until we're ready." Doyoung ran off to grab the radio, but Jaehyun and Mark both turned to Taeyong. 

"You want us to take her into the field?" Mark asked, clearly worried. 

"That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard!" Jaehyun agreed, much more aggressively. "She obviously doesn't know how to fight, she learned how to shoot like an hour ago! What if she just falls over and dies on us, has she even eaten? Or worse, what if she just fucking shoots us once you guys aren't looking?" 

"Enough!" Taeyong demanded loudly. It wasn't quite a yell, but it wasn't far off. "I understand your concern, but I don't really have a choice!" Just as he said this, Doyoung returned with a black box- a walkie talkie. 

"Thank you." She said as he handed it to her. He wouldn't meet her eyes, and said nothing. He just nodded, then turned to run back to his tent. She was more than scared to go face those disgusting things again, but she was even more worried to face an angry Taeyong. Sighing exasperatedly, Jaehyun gestured to Mark. 

"Well, come on then." Pulling one of the two bigger guns off his belt, he handed it to her. "This is a shotgun. Aim for the heads- and don't miss." He growled, throwing her a box of ammunition shortly after. He began to run South, leaving the two of them in the dust. 

"I guess we should go." Mark said. He wanted to say something more, but they didn't really have the time. Breathing deeply, she ran after them. It hadn't even been a two minute run before they encountered the horde. She stopped, terrified. 

She had seen the zombies once before, also with Jaehyun. This time, though, the reality of the situation was finally facing her. They were hideous. Many of them were dripping some unknown fluid, and she could see skeletons through their deteriorating flesh. The smell was almost unbearable, but they hadn't had time to grab masks. The snap of Jaehyun's voice brought her out of her stasis. 

"Hey! Pay attention!" he spat. "I'll take left, Mark takes the right, you stay in the middle so we can cover you. If you have an open wound, burn it shut- I don't care how much it hurts, you're fucked if blood gets in it. Don't get any in your mouth, either. If they get to close, use your machete. Don't be stupid." 

"Wait! I-" 

"Go!" She didn't even get to ask any questions before Jaehyun barreled towards the horde, blowing their heads off left and right. Brains, blood, ooze, and bones were scattered in the dust everywhere she looked. She even occasionally saw an eyeball fly past. Jaehyun was practically ignoring her, while Mark did his best to cover both their sections. Kneeling to the ground, she threw up everything she had eaten before. 

"Y/N!" A voice called from her right. She felt someone walk up next to her. 

"I'm fine..." she muttered, trying to assure Mark that she was alright. 

"Y/N, watch out!" His voice screamed from the right once more. Wait... he wasn't standing next to her. She looked up. Practically on top of her there was a rotting purple woman, reaching her claws for the girl's throat. Screeching, she stumbled backwards, trying to stand up. Unable to escape, she fumbled to pull the machete off her belt. Thrusting it upward, she punctured the lady's stomach, just barely avoiding covering herself in the burning liquid. Knowing that she had to keep her mouth shut, she refrained from screaming again. She hadn't done any damage to the head- it was still alive. 

Jumping to her feet and kicking the body off her blade, she swung it as hard as she could, right to left. Breathing heavily in panic, she watched as the head of the zombie rolled around on the ground, eyes just as dead as when it was attached. The arms and legs moved for a moment more, before the whole person just crumpled to the ground like a wooden doll. Unable to hold it in anymore, she screamed again. 

"Cut it out! The louder you are, the more zombies follow you!" Jaehyun seethed. Somehow, he had made his way over to her, likely to keep up with the horde, who's attention was now focused on the girl. "Let me see your hand." Confused, she lifted it up, shifting her machete to the other palm. Examining it, he showed her a cut on her own index finger. She must have scraped it when trying to free her blade. 

"Did that zombie bleed on you?" 

"N-no, I-" She hadn't even finished when he reached into his pocket. 

"Good. Whoa! Look at that!" He pointed away with his hidden hand. She hadn't registered what he was holding before she turned to look. 

"What's- FUCK!" While she was searching for the source of his exclamation, her finger went into a searing pain. Twisting back around, she saw him put a lighter back in his pocket. Before she could pull away, he had already wrapped a band-aid around it. His grip was surprisingly gentle, but the tip of her finger was now throbbing. 

"Sorry, can't take chances." She jerked her hand back, compressing it under her arm to ease the pain. 

"What the fuck Jaehyun!" She yelled, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. 

"Live now, talk later!" He yelled back, shooting into the mob. She managed to land bullets into a few more zombies, but for the most part, Mark handled both of their areas. She wasn't too good with aim, but she was scared to run up with a knife again. Much to her delight, their radios crackled to life. 

"We're ready to roll out, headed your way, left side!" Jaehyun turned to them both. 

"Be ready to jump in." As he was talking, two more zombies ran up behind him. 

"Jaehyun! Look out-" She attempted to warn him. Without even turning around, he spun two kitchen knives out of his belt, propelling his arms upwards and back. Both landed in the center of a zombie's forehead. She stood there, starstruck. He was scary good at that. While she was watching him, mesmerized, Mark shook her shoulders. 

"Come on! Get in! We can't hold them off forever!" At some point in her daze, the van had pulled up about fifteen feet away from them. Looking back and forth, she yanked open the door and pulled herself up. Mark climbed in after, and Jaehyun jumped, slamming the door in a zombie's face. 

"Clear," he said to Taeil, "Let's hit the road." Tires screeching in a 180 degree turn, Taeil took off North. She didn't know how long they'd be on the road, and she was too shocked to ask. Looking around, shaken, she saw Doyoung, Haechan, and Yuta in the rows behind her, and Taeyong and Taeil in the front seats. Her, Mark, and Jaehyun were all sandwiched in the first middle row. 

"Congratulations!" Mark beamed. "You've just killed your first zombie! Well, zombies." Jaehyun didn't seem nearly as impressed. 

"Lucky break. She almost died." 

"Aww, come on Jae, don't be like that." 

"Maybe I would have been able to fight better if you hadn't barbecued my finger." She argued. He glared in return. 

"Says the girl who doesn't know what the fuck she's doing." Jaehyun stuck his tongue out. 

"Ladies, ladies!" Mark said, still sitting in between them. "Don't get your panties in a twist. We're headed to the nearest major river, and I'm not gonna listen to you both bicker for the entire ride." 

"I'm sharing a row with Yuta." He grumbled, readjusting his belt and crawling over a crate to get to the second row. Yuta said nothing, but removed his feet from the seat so Jaehyun could sit. Y/N sighed, unprepared for the road trip ahead.


	5. Places to Sleep

Once everyone had settled down, Taeyong turned to address the group. Taeil looked mildly annoyed that he wasn't buckled, but it seemed that ignoring this quirk was a regular occurrence among the group. 

"Alright, like Mark said, we're headed North to the river." He started, moving his hands absentmindedly. "We have a few options from there. Lucky for you, Y/N, but we haven't decided yet, so you'll get a say." 

"Wait, what? She's been here for like 5 hours." Jaehyun argued. 

"She still gets a vote," Taeyong explained back, "It's only fair."

"No it's not!" At that, Yuta looked up, making eye contact with him. She didn't know what kind of internal communication they both had, but Jaehyun calmed back down, grumbling to himself. 

"As I was saying- we can do one of two things. First, we can try and find an area to set up a permanent base, build a fortress, and hold our own against the zombies. It'll be a shaky survival, but to be fair, any survival is tentative." Wow. That was grim. Still, it seemed like a feasible choice. 

"What's option two?" Haechan butted in, nearly hitting Jaehyun in the head as he leaned over the seat. 

"Hold on, I was getting there. Our second option is to go Northeast rather than Just North. It's risky, and we might get caught by a horde we can't handle. Still, if we can make it to the ocean, we can hijack a boat and go to an island. Assuming it hasn't been infected through air travel, we should be able to live out our lives in peace."

"Already sounding like a better choice." Taeil shrugged. 

"No more fighting." Yuta agreed. 

"What are the chances we make it, though? That's a lot of terrain- one wrong move and we're fucked." Jaehyun countered. "Wouldn't it be less risky to hunker down?" 

"True, but we can't fight forever." Yuta continued quietly. "Even if we don't get injured, we're gonna get older. One day we'll slip." Sighing, Jaehyun had to agree. 

"You don't have to decide right now," Taeyong consoled them. "We still have to have a full official meeting with Jungwoo. Maybe over dinner?" 

"Dinner?" Y/N asked excitedly. This caused most of the van to laugh. "What?" She asked, annoyed. "I'm just hungry." 

"Oh, that's right." Taeyong thought aloud, "You haven't eaten since you changed." Turning an embarrassing shade of red, she asked, 

"You saw that?" 

"It's fine," he laughed again, "you're under a lot of stress- you get a pass. Plus, Jaehyun told me about your little, uh... battlefield incident." She whipped around to glare at the aforementioned, who stuck his tongue out at her mockingly. 

"I can't get to any of the food bins right now," he continued, "But I may have a granola bar. Hold on-" She sat on the edge of her carseat as he dug around in his bag, finally pulling out a mostly intact bar. She took it from him, muttering a hasty 'thank you' and ripping into it. She took a few sips of his water bottle as well. As she finished up, she saw him still looking at her, smiling slightly. Realizing that she had noticed, he shook his head awkwardly. 

"Sorry." He turned back around, looking out the windshield. She slouched down in her seat. A decently full stomach, the hum of the engine and the vibration of the tires, the subdued sound of a few different headphones, the occasional page turn from Yuta's book... it was all making her very tired. It wasn't long before her vision faded in and out, fatigue betraying her. 

She woke up to the distant calling of her name. It took a few moments to realize that it was real life. She was caught up in a dream about... something. It was swiftly running from her memory, and she didn't have the energy to recall. 

"Y/N... Y/N! We're here!" She jolted awake. A hand was on her shoulder, shaking her lightly. The right side of her face was warm, but the fabric beneath it was rough. Trying to focus, she realized she was laying on a firm, denim pillow. She had fallen asleep in Mark's lap. 

Upon this discovery, she jumped up into a sitting position, backing up into the van window.

"I- Sorry- I don't- When-" He laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. 

"Chill out, it's fine. Sorry to wake you up- We're at the river, though." Looking around, she realized that everyone had already gotten out of the car. At least no one had to see her get all jumpy. Still, there was no doubt Jaehyun would make fun of her later. She glanced towards the open car door. They were all lined up in front of the river bank, looking out over the waters. Jungwoo was present as well- he must have pulled up shortly before them. Yuta was the first to notice her. 

"Oh, Y/N, you're up. Get over here, we're gonna set up." She stretched with a yawn, letting Mark exit before her. Jumping out, she checked her balance. She wasn't really great at running around just after waking up. She chose to go stand beside Yuta, as he was the one who called her over. Aside from that, he seemed the calmest, as well as the furthest away from Jaehyun.

"Alright, so here's what I was considering-" Taeyong said, directing everyone's attention. "There's a pretty large bank in the center of the river. We can set up camp there for the night, and decide what to do. If we decide to stay, I think it would be prudent to have a water-surrounded base, so we can add support to the loose sand. If we choose to leave, well that's that. Sound good?" No one objected, and he earned a few passive nods. 

"Alright. Jaehyun, you go pull a few boards to make a makeshift bridge. Haechan and Doyoung, go grab everyone's sleeping bags. Yuta, Y/N, you go across and make sure the ground is stable enough. Jungwoo, since we don't know if we're staying, there's no need to set up the medical tent. Instead, you and Mark should get the fire starters and pick out dinner. I'll make sure everything runs smoothly and help you all set up. Sound good?" Y/N looked around at all the group members nodding. They seemed to really respect Taeyong's decisions, even if he wasn't the most confident. She would have thought Jaehyun to have taken over by now, but he didn't argue. Maybe he had something against her specifically? 

She didn't have time to think about that now. Yuta was already eyeing the edge of the bank, figuring out the best way across. 

"We could jump, maybe..." He offered. "The current on this side isn't too strong, though, it's probably walkable." She nodded. 

"There are a few rocks jutting up. Maybe we could use them as stepping stones?" 

"Good eye- let's try it." Yuta let her go first, testing out each rock before she put her full weight on them. About halfway across the gap, they stopped. 

"Is something wrong?" He asked. 

"No, I'm just trying to figure out which-" Before she could finish, her heel shot out from under her. She shouted as she fell towards the water- the rock underneath her was covered in a thin moss, making it slippery. With incredible reflexes, Yuta grabbed her elbow, steadying her before she dunked herself. 

"Careful! You might split your head open!" He warned. She used his grip to regain her balance. 

"Y-yeah, sorry." She hadn't even turned back to her pre-planned path when he leaned down, hooking an elbow under her knees. He carried her across the final few steps, being careful not to fall as well. Setting her down, he brushed off a few water droplets from his pants. 

"...Thanks." She said, embarrassed. How many times would these guys be forced to babysit her? She had to start learning to hold her own. 

"No problem. Let's split up the edge- just step on the iffy parts. The loose soil should break away, or you can pack it down. Afterwards, just start working inward, make sure there aren't any sinkholes." She nodded, grateful not to have to stay face-to-face with him for the entire operation. Hopefully no one had seen that. 

It wasn't long before everyone stood on the inner bank, and Jungwoo had started the fire. The sleeping bags were all laid out in a circle- evidently, Taeyong planned for them to sleep in the open. In addition, he had set up a clothesline, explaining that whenever freshwater was around, it was best to wash any dirty clothes and fill up the water containers. While this made sense, Y/N was unsure of where to change without a tent. Finally, she bit the bullet and walked out into the woods. She was thankfully uninterrupted, walking back in a new outfit and an armful of cloth. 

"A few of you should wash while the rest set up for dinner and the night." Taeyong directed. 

"How are we supposed to figure this out?" Haechan laughed. "Is Y/N supposed to cook or do the laundry?" She shot him a piercing glare, quickly eliciting an apology from him. "Sorry, sorry, just kidding." 

"If you're that sorry, Haechan, then you get to help her. Let's have Y/N, Haechan, and Jaehyun do the laundry."

"Fine, but please don't let Mark cook." Haechan begged. 

"Taeyong and Doyoung should do it!" Mark agreed. A chorus of 'Yeah!'s and 'Please's rang out from the boys, to the point where Taeyong finally had to hold up his hands. 

"Alright, alright, I'll cook." He conceded. Everyone cheered- so Taeyong and Doyoung must be good chefs, then. Whether the leader knew it or not, she didn't know, but she was grateful to be doing laundry. She didn't need any of the boys touching her clothes. 

Most of their time washing was spent with Haechan running his mouth while Jaehyun and Y/N ignored him, and each other. She reminded herself to grab a few more t-shirts out of the storage bins later. When everything was clean, they walked over to the clothesline, draping articles in their absence of clothespins. 

"Keep your underwear away from mine." Jaehyun mumbled angrily as they started the work. Pausing, she dropped her arms. She turned on her heel, facing him directly. It was less threatening than she had hoped, given her height, but she was angry nonetheless. 

"I'm sorry, did I do something to offend you?" She demanded. He glared back, undaunted. 

"Maybe. Or maybe I just don't like you." 

"What kind of an answer is that?" She argued in return, unwilling to accept the vagueness of his jabs. 

"What does it matter to you? Just don't do anything stupid and we won't have a problem," he growled. She wanted to keep prodding him, but she sensed that he was done talking. Any further, and he might push her into the river. She'd just have to find a way to get through to him eventually. They finished the laundry in silence- even Haechan wasn't stupid enough to get involved with that little fiasco. 

When they returned to the little setup, she saw Taeyong and Doyoung towering over a cast iron skillet, carefully balanced over a roaring fire. Running ahead, Haechan looked. 

"Yes! Pancakes!" He jumped into the air, excited. A couple of the boys laughed. 

"Calm down, they're almost done." Taeyong said, grabbing some plastic plates from beside him. 

"Can we use the chocolate chips?" Haechan begged, tugging on his sleeve like a five year old. Rolling his eyes Taeyong sighed. 

"Well, I suppose we have to use them eventually. Go get them." The boy's eyes lit up a second time as he vaulted across the river to the van, assumedly going to get chocolate chips. Everyone sat in a circle, getting ready to eat. Taeyong began to stack pancakes on people's plates, generously serving himself last. Aside from Haechan's coveted paper bowl chocolate chips, they also had a bottle of honey and a few single packages of maple syrup. 

Y/N waited her turn to use any of the condiments. Honestly, she had her eye on the chocolate as well, as she felt like she hadn't eaten sweets in a millennia. By the time the bowl made it's way around, though, Taeil was the only one who hadn't partaken. When Taeyong noticed the few left, he discreetly poured them onto her plate, emptying the bowl. Looking over, she made a silent thank you with her face, digging in. 

The group quickly became lethargic after eating, satisfied with their work. Taeyong tried to spark up their conversation from the car ride, but was met with a brick wall. 

"We still need to vote on our next move." The group groaned collectively. 

"Can't you just decide? You're in charge." Haechan mumbled, holding his face in his hands. 

"No I'm not!" He argued. "And we're putting it to vote! Come on, all I need to do is make sure everyone understands, and then we can decide-" 

"Can we please just do it tomorrow?" Taeil asked, rubbing his eye. Even he was exhausted. Defeated, Taeyong sighed. 

"Fine. First thing tomorrow." Everyone breathed out, relieved. As the blaze calmed to a smoldering pile of embers, boys were crawling into their sleeping bags one by one. Y/N chose to wait, figuring that once everyone was in their place, she would automatically know where to be. Noticing this, Taeil walked over. 

"You're in the blue one between Doyoung and Jaehyun." He muttered, pointing across the center. Shit. Jaehyun again? It was like these guys just wanted him to kill her. Not to mention that she hadn't gotten past her awkward moment with Doyoung from earlier that afternoon. Still, she couldn't argue with him. Staring directly at the ground, she made her way to the bag, removed her shoes, and slipped inside, all without making eye contact with anyone. Thankfully, Jaehyun was still at the fire, heating up and molding what she could only assume was a knife. 

Inside the bag and warmed by the heat of the fire, she was finally able to relax. Something about being surrounded by the cotton and plastic was oddly comforting. The inside smelled faintly of cologne- this must have been somebody else's sleeping bag at one point... Best case scenario, they had stolen it from a house or a store, but... more likely it had belonged to WinWin. She wanted to ask about him, but it seemed to be a sensitive subject. Neither Doyoung nor any of the other boys addressed her, so she shut her eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep.


	6. The Sickness and the Cure

Morning came all too soon for Y/N, groaning as her bones popped within her sleeping bag. She was pulled from her slumber by the crackling grease and entrancing smell of breakfast. Hey eyes opened just enough that she could see which boys were up. She knew Doyoung was still asleep because she heard the snoring from her side. It only took a tiny head tilt to see the fire. Yuta and Taeil were sitting together, talking about something. Taeyong sat across from them, keeping the fire going in its early stages. Among the mutters, she started making out bits of conversation. 

"Should we wake them up?"

"No, it's fine. The guys will get up on their own." 

"What about Y/N? She might sleep for years."

"Yeah, but I feel bad waking her up..."

"Worst case, we can just pick her up and put her in the van, right?" This was met with tired laughs. She couldn't tell who was saying what, but she was already embarrassed. Once she was sure the discussion had switched away from that unnerving topic, she crawled out of the bag, stretching. 

"Oh, Y/N! You're up!" Taeyong noted, calling her over. By the time she had risen, most everyone was awake. Taeyong, Taeil, Yuta, Jaehyun, and Mark were all standing near the fire. Haechan was clearly awake, but unwilling to leave his bag. Doyoung was sitting atop his sleeping bag, messing with some sort of metal contraption. Jungwoo was the only one missing- not in his sleeping bag or by the fire. 

He explained that they weren't allowed to eat until their issue was put to debate and vote. Everyone groaned, trying to cut in. Jaehyun was the first to get his outburst through. 

"Dude, I'm starving." He dramatically leaned over. 

"Yeah, and Jungwoo is missing." Haechan added. 

"He's not missing, you toddlers." Taeil reprimanded them. "He's just in the van." 

"Y/N, would you mind going to get him? I'm worried Jaehyun might try to eat someone if we don't start soon." Yuta asked her politely. Narrowing his eyes, the other boy pointed. 

"You're first on the list, Yuta." Eager to eat as well as get away from that little mess, she headed towards the van. A few wooden posts had been set up, so it wasn't hard to cross the river. Unable to see through the tinted windows on the car, she grabbed the handle and heaved the door out of the way. 

Jungwoo was in the first row, holding two glass vials delicately. He had assumedly been about to combine them, but the loud slamming of metal jerked him out of his focus. The liquid spilled onto the car's seat, creating a soft hiss. 

"Ah! Y/N! What are you doing?!" He asked, shoving the glass under his leg to hide it from view. 

"They asked me to come get you for the vote. What are you doing?" 

"Nothing! Just chilling!" He said, laughing awkwardly. "We should go!" Before she could argue, he catapulted out of the vehicle, running across the dirt and jumping the river to greet the other guys. With a sigh, she closed the door, starting towards the fire as well. 

"Okay, just to reiterate-" Taeyong said, sitting down and motioning for everyone to follow suit. "We can either stay here and set up a permanent base, or we can head Northeast to the ocean and find an island." From here, the debate quickly sparked up. It sounded like Jaehyun was the only one really fighting the move to the ocean, along with Taeyong staying neutral. 

"It's so risky, trying to traverse that much land unharmed. At least if we have a base, we'll have a way of operating and more familiar terrain to work with. The other plan is just a mad dash for the coast!" He argued, making fair points.

"Yeah, but we're going to get to the point where we can't fight anymore." Yuta said with a hint of sadness in his voice. "What then?" 

"We die with honor?" He posed. 

"Jaehyun!" Everyone shouted in unison. 

"What? It's better than dying in the next week! Or old and alone!" 

"Wouldn't the water act as a barrier?" Y/N offered, trying to calm Jaehyun down as well as subconsciously show him they weren't enemies. 

"It's not deep enough." Yuta explained. "Sure, zombies don't like water, but it's not as if it kills them. They'd muster up and cross the river eventually. Or worse, figure out how to build a bridge." 

"Okay, fine," Jaehyun continued, "But what about all the flaws of getting to an island? First of all, there aren't any functioning satellite towers, so GPS is out. Even if we find a map, none of us have any nautical knowledge. You just expect us to learn how to navigate and pilot a boat, and be quick enough about it that we don't starve to death in the middle of the sea? Hell, for that matter, what if we can't find a boat?" 

"We'll just have to take that risk." Taeil shot, "It's not like we're stupid, we can figure it out. Plenty of these abandoned-ass towns have libraries. We can get maps there. And I'm sure Doyoung has downloaded something that could help, right?" They all looked to the self-appointed tech person who hadn't offered an opinion the entire conversation. It took him a moment to realize they were expecting a response. 

"Oh, uh... I'm sure I could find something..." 

"See? It'll be fine." Taeil finished. "Arguing is pointless, let's just vote." 

"Alright, all votes for staying here?" Jaehyun was the lone "I", accompanied only by the crackling flames. "All votes for leaving for the ocean?" There were only a few convicting voices, the rest muffled or silent. Some of these included Taeil and, surprisingly, Haechan. Still, no matter how many, it was more than one. 

"Sorry, Jae, you've been outvoted." Taeyong said apologetically, looking at him with a bit of understanding. 

"Hey, no worries man! This could be fun!" Haechan added, putting an arm around his shoulder. 

"Yeah, dying is so fun." He grumbled, shoving the boy, "Get off me." Deciding that he just needed time, Taeyong decided to continue with their scheduled plans. 

"So we'll head East, but we still need to stop and gather supplies, raid, things like that. For now, we'll eat, head to the nearest town, and pick up some stuff. We're almost out of gas, anyway. Sound good?" 

"Finally, some fucking food." Jaehyun muttered. The rest agreed as well. While they were eating, Y/N watched Jungwoo put down his plate, glancing around before standing to walk away. Suspicious, she followed him. She tentatively walked behind him for a few minutes, tailing him into the woods. Finally, he came to a halt, slowing his breathing. 

"I know someone's following me." He called suddenly, spinning to try and catch whoever it was. Frozen behind a tree, she stood stone still, eyes clenched shut. "It's useless, just come out." She exhaled with disappointment. No point in hiding it if he knew. Walking out from behind the tree, he looked surprised. 

"Y/N? What are you doing?" Sighing she held out her hands defensively. 

"What were you doing in the van, Jungwoo? And why are you walking out into the woods all alone? It's really strange..." 

"Okay, first of all, I was going into the woods to piss- that is, until you showed up." He said, annoyed. Oh... she hadn't thought about that. 

"Fine, maybe you were! But you were definitely doing something weird in the van!" She accused. At this, his glance shifted away. "Ah-hah! I knew it. So what was it?" He walked closer to her, lowering his voice. 

"Look, if I tell you, you can't tell anyone else, okay? I don't want to get anyone's hopes up." Hopes up? She nodded, eager to hear his explanation. He looked reluctant, but finally said, "I think I may be on track to finding a cure for the zombies. Of course, it would only work if the body was still in good enough shape to still be alive should it be reverted, but-" 

"A cure?!" She shouted, eliciting a panicked look-around from the boy. "Jungwoo! That's incredible! I knew you were the medic, but I didn't know you were that good, I-" 

"Shh! It's just an experiment! This is exactly why I didn't want to say anything!" He begged. "Please just keep it between us! I couldn't imagine if Ty found out only for it to fail..." She mimed dragging a zipper across her lips. 

"Your secret is safe with me." They stood awkwardly for a moment, before he cleared his throat. 

"Um, would you mind?" 

"Huh?" He made a displeased face, looking around at the woods. "Oh! Yeah, yeah... sorry." She hustled out of the woods with her head down, leaving him in peace. A cure... how interesting.


	7. A Single Slip

"Y/N's first raid!" Haechan cheered as they pulled up to a run-down town. She wasn't nearly as excited as the boy, however. In fact, her stomach was turning at the thought of having to face any zombies again. Their sources were pretty good, and suggested that there was a strong chance that they would run into at least a few. There were always stragglers that hung behind in their old homes, and some formed stationary hordes. While this would help in their moments of running away, it would be rather difficult to raid houses as such. 

"Who's going in, and who's staying in the car?" Taeyong asked, surveying the van. 

"I'm driving." Taeil called out. It seemed like he didn't fight very often. 

"And Jungwoo is running the other car." Taeyong added on. 

"I went last time." Jaehyun grumbled. "By myself." 

"You wanted to go by yourself." Mark corrected him. 

"If Haechan is so excited about it, send him." Jaehyun countered. 

"That could work. How about Haechan and Yuta go with her?" Taeyong suggested. 

"Three people seems excessive..." Yuta said softly, but Taeyong had already made up his mind. 

"Haechan and Yuta, we're bout ten minutes out! Dig in the back for your weapons." The boys nodded, (Yuta a bit reluctantly). This was quite interesting for Y/N. She hadn't seen either of these men fight before. Yuta seemed too innocent and passive, but she had no reason to doubt Taeyong's judgement... It would be strange to watch, but interesting. 

"Grab a rifle." Jaehyun muttered in her ear, causing her to jump. 

"W-what?" 

"Calm down. All I'm saying is you should grab a bigger gun. I won't be there to save your ass this time." He explained with a glare. 

"Wouldn't it be better for you if my ass went un-saved?" She offered. 

"Oo, and what will Jaehyun come back with?" Haechan commented, already back in his original place. 

"Shut up, idiot." 

"Almost there." Taeyong cut off their fight, trying to get them all to settle down. Sure enough, she could just barely make out a few buildings through the dusty atmosphere. "Remember, in particular Jungwoo has given you a list of materials he's looking for. Many of them can be found in convenience stores or family medicine cabinets. Unless you're planning to eat it tonight, don't pick up anything perishable." 

"I am sooo gonna get something good." Haechan said, acting like a little kid. 

"The more flour you pick up, the more we can bake." Taeil put the thought in his mind. 

"Ohh, good plan." Haechan laughed. "Anyway, let's roll!" As the car was still slowing down, he opened the door, launching himself out and rolling onto the ground, lugging something close behind. 

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Yuta asked, but laughing and following suit." 

"Wait, what?" 

"Your turn. It's easier if you tuck."

"Wait, what?" Jaehyun kicked her lightly in the back, sending her careening out of the car. The breath was knocked out of her lungs as she hit the ground, rolling a few feet before finally slowing to a stop. 

"Woah... are you okay?" Yuta asked, trotting over and helping her to her feet. She rubbed the back of her legs, grumbling. 

"Yeah, I'm fine." 

"Well, in that case, let's go!" Haechan said excitedly, practically skipping towards the town. 

"He seems excited..." She mumbled. 

"Yeah, he doesn't get to go on missions much anymore. He get's a little... hyper." 

"Hyper?" 

"...You'll see." 

The closer they got, the more jittery Haechan seemed. It was as they walked that Y/N got a good look at what weapon he was sporting. As far as she could tell, he had no gun or knife- or if he did, they were well concealed. The only tool he carried in his hands was a slim, colorful baseball bat covered in barbed wire. It had clearly been painted, but it was splintering in places, as if it was often used for blunt hits. 

"Do you... actually use that?" She asked incredulously. 

"Hmm? Oh, the bat!" Haechan laughed, swinging it proudly. "Yeah, beautiful, isn't it? Taeyong even painted it for me. It gives him something to do, too. I uh... tend to break them pretty often." 

"That's nice of him." She said absentmindedly, still eyeing the blunt object. 

"Yeah- don't get to use it much anymore, so this'll be fun. I hope there are at least a few stragglers, you know?" He laughed again. "Speaking of which, who wants what? I want to pick up some more art stuff for Ty, so I can take the stores if you want. Do you guys want to check out houses or what?" She didn't realize Haechan was such a confident leader. Judging based on Yuta's attitude earlier, she thought it would be best if they sticked together- for both of them. 

"That's fine." She agreed. 

"Well, in that case, let's start center, work our way out?" He offered. "Maybe draw out some fun while we're at it." Okay... that wasn't creepy. Still, Yuta and she followed him to the center of town. With every breath of wind and creaking door, she turned, afraid of what might lurk behind. It wasn't until they were almost to the main building when they were attacked. 

A zombie ran out of a nearby backyard, smashing through a rotting fence to get a taste of human flesh. 

"Look out!" She yelled. 

"Mine!" Haechan countered, jumping forward. He swung the bat with immeasurable force, smashing the creature's head clear into a pulp. It splattered everywhere, leaving her shocked. He had taken it out with one swing, and now, he... he was laughing? But not just regular laughing... truly entertained laughing. 

"We should get going," Yuta said softly, "Leave him to that." Nodding shakily, she followed Yuta's lead into the surrounding houses. She made extra sure to grab everything Jungwoo needed. After that, she began focusing more on fridges and closets. The power had been out for ages, but some chests had good enough insulation to preserve food. All the meat they came across was rotting, but some frozen vegetables and such were salvageable. It was sort of like a scavenger hunt, and it was good to get out, so she didn't mind.

On about their seventh house, she took the upstairs while Yuta shuffled through the kitchen drawers. One room that caught her attention was behind the last door on the upper floor. Upon revealing it, she saw a white bedframe draped in a pink lace. There were stuffed animals and dolls littered across the floor, as well as atop the white play desk with gold accents. The whole scene was sickeningly untouched- if she hadn't known better, she would have thought everything was back to normal. 

She forced herself to root through the stuff, looking for anything valuable. Obviously, there was nothing too notable. She did pick up a pack of stickers that, for some strange reason of intuition, she thought Haechan would like. As she tried to shut the door, though, something got in the way. Looking down, she saw a small white stuffed mouse blocking the door. She picked it up and pocketed it, just as Yuta screamed from downstairs. 

"Uhh, Y/N! I could use some help!" She shot down the stairs, running to where the man was facing three zombies. Scrambling to pull out her rifle, she shakily loaded it. "Now!" He yelled, staving them off with a knife. His free hand couldn't reach a more effective weapon. Finally getting it to fire, he jumped out of the way, bullet narrowly missing his arm. She evidently needed to learn better aim, but he didn't say anything. Opening created, he pulled out what looked like a sword, slicing the other two's heads off cleanly. 

"We should go meet up with Haechan." He said, breathing heavily. She nodded in agreement, walking with him out of the house. 

"Did you get anything cool?" He asked, trying to change the subject. 

"Uh, I mean... food?" She offered blandly. He laughed, although his fatigue was sticking out. 

"I'd hope so." 

"Oh, and this," she said, pulling out the mouse. She felt stupid immediately after, but it was better than walking in silence. 

"That's cute," he smiled softly. "You know, I used to- Oh my God!" He shouted, running forward. She looked over, trying to see what he was scared of. Catching a glimpse, she realized that it wasn't something he was running from, but rather towards. There was a pile of carcasses, each with a mutilated head. In the middle of it all, Haechan sat cross legged, head in his hands. Was he... crying?

"Hae, what's wrong?" Yuta asked, gently shaking his shoulder. The boy was alternating between laughing and sobbing. 

"I'm really sorry Yuta, I am!"

"Sorry for what, Haechan, what happened?"

"I kept counting! One, two, three, I got to at least eleven!" He smiled, looking up sadly. "I got so many, Yuta!" 

"Good, Haechan. Get up, let's go to the van, we can-" 

"Yuta..." Y/N interrupted in a whisper. "Look at his arm." The boy paused, and then turned to look. Sure enough, Haechan's pale skin was stained in an all-too-noticeable pattern. He had been bitten. 

"Oh, Haechan..." He muttered, kneeling down next to him. 

"You have to cut it off, Yuta." He laughed. "Take my arm off!" 

"Maybe it hasn't spread, we can still get the infected blood out." 

"You know we can't! Do it!" He laughed. "It's fine, it's fine... Y/N can do it for me. Y/N! Get over here!" She froze, eyes wide. 

"I-" 

"Now!" Reluctantly, she walked over, moreso to make sure Yuta was alright. "Get out that shiny machete, hun! The longer you wait, the more you'll have to chop!" 

"I... I can't do that, Haechan, I..."

"Consider this," he posed, talking incredibly calmly. "You let me be, fine. You didn't hurt me, but. I turn, I eat you first- obviously because you look so delicious," he winked. "Then I eat Yuta. And now you've killed him! Do you want him to die? Or me, for that matter?" 

"No, I-" 

"Then do it. Look, I'll help. Take out your thingy-" He directed. She glanced at Yuta, who wasn't saying anything. Well, it looked like she didn't have much of a choice. She pulled it out, holding it in front of her like a bomb. He held out his arm, pointing things out with his left hand. 

"This is the bite," he directed. "And you can see some of the infection up to here," he moved his fingertips up. Now, the infection usually spreads past where it's visible, by at least two inches. At least, that's what Jungwoo says. I think you should be safe-" he made a chopping motion with his hand, "And cut at the elbow." The idea was making her sick. 

"You're going to have to put some real weight behind it," he warned her, "If we had an axe, that would be ideal, but... I trust your strength." 

"How can you be so calm about-" 

"WHAT CHOICE DO I HAVE?" He screeched. After the following silence, he shook his head, laughing again. "Sorry, sorry... that was uncalled for. Just, please do it. Quickly." He held out his arm, looking away. She wanted to close her eyes, but she was too afraid to miss. 

The first swing only cut about halfway through his arm, getting lodged in what she could only assume was the bone. The blood spurt into her face and over her clothes. Surprisingly, Haechan was gritting his teeth- the cry that rang out when she did such was thrown from Yuta's mouth. Panicking, she firmly planted a boot on his upper arm, yanking the blade out and throwing it down again. In total, it took four strikes- her first one, two to completely splinter the bone, and a final one to finish it off. 

Yuta had tears streaming down his face, now with his head in his palms. 

"Hey," Haechan said weakly. "I know it's super emotional for you or whatever, but I'm gonna need your help." Yuta breathed in deeply, trying to pull himself together. Nodding, he began to wrap Haechan's arm, trying not to look. They all agreed not to look back to the... reminder of it as they stumbled towards the van. 

Yuta carried most of the bags as Y/N wrapped her arm around Haechan's waist, and his around her shoulder. It was an effective means of supporting him without putting stress on his open wound. Yuta also continued trying to call the guys. By the time he finally got a hold on them, the van was in sight. 

"Come on, Haechan..." She muttered into his ear. "We're almost there."


	8. A Temporary Solution

"Mark, hand me that tube." 

"The white one or the blue one?" 

"Blue. And a lighter as well." Jungwoo held Haechan's half-arm gently as he cleaned and disinfected it. He had already thrown Yuta out as he was so distraught, but he had Y/N, Mark, and Taeyong in the tent. Y/N and Taeyong were sitting atop him, making sure he didn't try and get up. The injured man was drunk off his ass and gagged. They didn't have anything to really knock him out with, so the best they could do is get him shitfaced and make sure he didn't hurt himself. He'd thank them later. 

Thankfully, he passed out as soon as Jungwoo had finished burning the wound and began stitching the gap. With the extra mobility, it didn't take long for the medic to bandage him up and grind a few painkillers into a glass of water. He managed to pour the majority of it into his mouth, forcing him to swallow.

"He'll be fine." Jungwoo sighed, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. The intense focus had tired him out. 

"Fine." Taeyong repeated sadly. "What does fine even mean?" 

"He'll live, is what that means." Jungwoo amended. At what cost, though? He'd never get his arm back. He could potentially do something like Johnny had, but it wouldn't be nearly as functional as his original. Not only that, but could he fight with a bat one-handed? He was always so upbeat, even though it was different than Mark. What would this do to him? Y/N couldn't bear to think about it as she walked out of the medical tent, head down. The whole group was in a stir aside from Yuta. They had needed to set up camp to deal with the wound, so she went to her own tent, lost in thought. 

They had decided to stay for the next few days and let Haechan recover. The first day he woke up, he was silent. He was brought food into his tent only by Taeyong. He didn't want to see anyone, but most notably, asked Yuta to stay away. Yuta blamed himself for the accident, for not watching out for his friend. Worse, since Haechan didn't want to see him, he feared that Haechan blamed him as well. 

"I deserve it," he had stated, crying quietly. He obviously didn't want to seem so weak, wiping the salty mess off his face, but he couldn't help it. Y/N had sat beside him, trying to comfort him. She rubbed his shoulders as he leaned into his palms, shaking. 

"I'm sure Haechan doesn't blame you. He looks up to you, he doesn't want you to see him in a moment of failure." Yuta shook his head denyingly.

The next day wasn't much better. Rather than silence, Haechan was all too loud. He wouldn't even let Taeyong in to bring him food. Every time someone tried, he'd hold the zipper shut and just yell at them until they left. No less than every single person in the camp tried to speak to him, but he was unreasonable. It was only when Yuta knelt at the front of his tent, still crying, that he said something coherent. He had mentioned that he would be fine in another three days. 

Y/N's first instinct was to go to Jungwoo. Thankfully, he was alone in the medical tent, no doubt working on his little project. 

"Hey, Jungwoo..." He nodded in greeting, not saying anything as he messed with a flask. "Just out of curiosity, if someone is bitten, how long does it take for them to turn?" She asked. He raised an eyebrow. 

"...Why do you want to know?" 

"Oh, uh, getting up close and personally with those zombies really got me thinking and I... I guess I was just curious." He looked a little bit suspicious, but he was too busy to get in detail with his thoughts. 

"To start going crazy, or to completely become a zombie?"

"Hmm... the second one." 

"Um, about five days, at least in our experience?" Interesting. She looked to a shelf behind him. There were tubes lined up in a tray, labeled 1-12. In front of them were a second set of vials, each with a piece of what she could only assume to be flesh inside. Most of them were purple- a disgusting, familiar purple. Three were different, though. One was a light pink, one was an unsettling green, and one... well, one just looked like normal, pure human. Double checking for his attention, she grabbed the vial above the clean sample- Test 7. 

"Alright, thanks Jungwoo!" She said, hastily rushing out of the tent. Concealing it in her pocket, she walked to the injured boy's tent. 

"Haechan!" She whispered urgently. 

"GET OUT!" He yelled, laughing afterwards. "Just get out." 

"Look, I'll leave, but hear me out-" she offered. "I know what's wrong- the infection's not gone, is it?" This was met with silence. Bingo. "Here's the deal- Jungwoo's been working on a cure, I think he might be onto something. We can save you, and no one has to know. You don't have to hurt anyone." Still silent. "Please, Haechan, just try it." Just when she was about to give up and walk away, there was a hasty zip. His eyes peeked out from inside. 

"Give it here." 

"Let me in, first." He looked reluctant, but finally backed up, allowing her entry. It was about as bad as she expected. His arm was purple up to his shoulder, and it was already starting to discolor his collarbone. She held out the vial, but didn't hand it over quite yet. 

"Listen. Jungwoo doesn't know I have this. It was the most successful sample. I can't guarantee what will happen if you-" Before she could finish, he grabbed it and drank it like a shot, then stuck his tongue out. 

"Ugh, gross. Would it kill him to flavor this?"

"It's just a sample. A test. And that was insanely rash of you! What if-" As she said this, she looked to his shoulder. Already the purple was beginning to bubble and fade away. 

"Oh my God." He said, staring as well. "Oh my God! Y/N, you're a genius! I can't believe it!" He grabbed her shoulder with his good hand and pulled her in, kissing her on the lips. "I don't have to die!" He jumped up, getting caught in the structure of the tent. His balance still wasn't that great. 

"We have to tell Jungwoo!" She hadn't even objected when he rocketed out of the tent, leaving her in shock. She lightly touched a hand to her mouth, before realizing that he was long gone. 

"Wait up!" 

A few moments later, they were all seated together around the fire for yet another long, convoluted group meeting. 

"You used a test sample? On a human being?" Jungwoo asked angrily. 

"I'm sorry! But it saved Haechan, didn't it?" She countered. 

"You didn't tell us you were still infected?!" Taeyong demanded of the injured man. 

"And you didn't tell us we were making a cure!" Taeil pointed to Jungwoo. This was all going in quite loud, blaming circles. 

"Everyone, chill out!" Mark said, laughing. "Haechan's fine, we have this new cure-thingy, Y/N took a risk that paid off, it all worked out!" He finished, holding his arms out. "We're great! Now let's eat dinner, Haechan must be starving." Everything was dinner with these guys. Still, it proved to be an effective distraction. Someone caught her eye, though. 

"Hey... what's wrong?" She asked, walking up to Jaehyun. He was sitting by himself, barely picking at his food. 

"...It's not like you give a shit." He told her, turning away slightly. 

"I asked, didn't I?" He rolled his eyes. 

"Fine, but only because I want the satisfaction of proving you wrong." He prefaced. "I'm just angry because I warned you idiots that it was dangerous to keep going the way we were. And what do you do? You go and get Haechan practically killed."

"At least he's not dead." She started, but he shook his head sadly. 

"How long until he is? Until he ends up like WinWin? Until we all end up like WinWin? And for what? A few cans of shitty Campbell's soup?" 

"I... got this?" She offered awkwardly, pulling out the mouse. It was only when she did so that she realized she hadn't changed clothes. Suddenly, the bloodstains were painstakingly apparent to her. He stared at it. 

"You've got to be kidding me." She clenched it in her palm. 

"I- sorry. That was dumb." Still, he grabbed it out of her hand, shoving it in his pocket. She stared at his hand for a second. 

"Get out of here." She nodded, walking back to the group. She couldn't tell if he was mocking her or being vulnerable, but it was at least something. 

This was clearly affecting everyone, but they'd get through it. Maybe Haechan would even get back on track. That transplant-arm fiasco may even be an option. She thought about looking for Johnny, but decided she'd do it in the morning. She went to go sit with the guys, who were already laughing with each other. It was all settling back to normal. 

Normal...


	9. Guilty as Charged

Their plan was to leave now that Haechan was feeling a bit better, but he insisted that they stay for another stretch of time. While Taeyong really wanted to get on the road, he agreed to a few more days. Jaehyun had been oddly distant, but that wasn't too unusual. What was unusual is when Haechan went back to being alone. They figured he just needed time to cope, a little silence to get over it. 

Yuta was the first to try and talk to him. It had been 4 days since the loss of his arm, and Yuta had spent the whole time avoiding him. Still, he knew they'd have to address it eventually. 

"Haechan?" 

"Go away." He paused. 

"Look... I'm sorry, I know it's my fault." 

"Leave, Yuta." He demanded. Haechan didn't blame him, but... something was wrong. He couldn't think straight. Suddenly, he was filled with rage and anger, and he didn't know why. He wanted to control it, but every time Yuta spoke, it broke down his self control a bit more. 

"I understand if you don't want to talk to me, but I just can't-"

"Are you all stupid?" He shouted from inside the tent. "How about this, then? The next person who tries to come in here, I'm fucking shooting them. Okay?" 

"Haechan-" Yuta reached for the zipper. A bang rang out. A tiny, smoldering hole was left inches from his hand. The plastic of the tent was already melting the gap back together, but it was undoubtedly visible. 

"That's your one warning." The injured boy growled. As Yuta began to walk away sadly, he could just barely make out a muffled giggling. The boy had always been a bit eccentric, but now he sounded downright unhinged. Yuta didn't want to say anything- he was worried Haechan would get in some sort of trouble. However, by day 5, Y/N didn't know what to do. Something was wrong, she could feel it. 

She had tried to console Yuta, but the boy was determined to make amends with his friend. 

"Yuta, he just needs time." 

"We don't have time! I feel like shit for what I did!" 

"It wasn't your fault, man, Hae knows that."

"No, I have to do something! He'll starve otherwise!" He said, running towards the boy's tent.

"Yuta, wait-" She called, trying to catch up. It was too late, though. She stood about ten feet back as Yuta knelt in the dirt, screaming through the fabric. 

"Haechan, I'm coming in!" He shouted. 

"I think the fuck not!" A click sounded from inside. Clearly he had cocked a gun- he wasn't messing around. Still, Yuta grabbed the zipper, pulling it down. 

Bang. 

Blood leaked from Yuta's shoulder. It wasn't far off from a major artery, but it had missed fatal proportions. A second shot fired, then a third. His body jerked as he fell to the ground. Fifth. Sixth. By the end, he had fired nine rounds into Yuta's body. The boy passed out cold. By now, Haechan had stepped out of the tent. He was clearly sick- and not in the regular way. 

His severed arm was purple, but not zombie purple. It was more of a rash color, bubbling and twisting across his skin, almost as if it had a life of its own. His eyes were red and bloodshot, and his pupils were dilated despite the shady atmosphere. 

"Haechan..." She stuttered, staring in horror. "What did you do?" His focus was flitting in and out as he swayed. He almost looked drunk, but she smelled no alcohol. 

"I... oh my god." He knelt down next to his friend, quickly bleeding out. Y/N rushed over to help him. She tried to apply pressure wherever she could. His breathing grew weak, soon slowing. 

"Shit, shit, shit!" She yelled, grabbing his face. "Stay with me, Yuta, come on," She pushed on his chest, trying to get his lungs to restart. She held his nose, breathing harshly into his mouth. She repeated this process a few times, but he wasn't responding. 

"Fuck! What have I done!" Haechan sat on the ground, rocking back and forth with his head to his knees. "I'm going crazy, Y/N, crazy!" 

"You're gonna be okay, just help me with-" 

"Absolutely insane! It's that juice, Y/N, the funny stuff Jungwoo made. It's doing something to me, it's- it's making me want to hurt people." 

"Hae-" 

"I want to shoot you so badly, Y/N, I really do." He cried, strangely tinted tears streaming down his face in gooey tracks. "I have one bullet left, I could do it." She was still unable to get a word in. "One bullet... that's it, I know how I can fix this!" He said, standing once again. 

"Wait, really? How-" 

Bang. 

Y/N stared in horror at the now two bodies lying in front of her. 

"Y/N? What's going on?" A voice asked behind her. Taeyong was walking over. Oh no, oh no, oh no...

"Taeyong, I-" She stood up, running to him and burying her face in his chest. He could see the scene over her shoulder, mouth agape in shock. 

"...What happened?" He whispered. She could feel his body tremble beneath her. The bodies were a mess. Yuta was riddled with bullet holes and lying in a river of blood. It was staining both his and the other boy's clothes. Haechan, although only hit with one bullet, made almost as much of a mess. She didn't want to take a second look to confirm, but she could have sworn she saw pieces of his brain littered around. 

"I think it was Jungwoo's test, he- he wen't crazy, he shot Yuta nine times, and then he- he killed himself I- I tried to- I don't know what-" 

"Shh, Y/N, we'll handle it." He said. Clearly he was devastated, but trying not to cause her to panic. He called the other men over, and everything faded into a blur for her. Next thing she knew, Jungwoo was in front of her. She was still frozen, arms around Taeyong, as she watched Jungwoo carefully lift up Haechan's eyelid. 

"He looks high." Jungwoo concluded. "This is the medication. I knew it was too good to be true. This is why I didn't want anyone knowing what I was working on!" He seethed, crying as well. Everyone was crying. 

"This is all my fault." She whimpered. "If I hadn't made him drink that stuff, he'd still be alive." 

"It's not your fault, Y/N. We just weren't careful enough." Taeyong muttered, putting a hand on her back. 

"Fuck!" Someone yelled from behind everything. All the boys turned. It had been Jaehyun. "You guys all think this is just some big fucking game, huh? Winwin is dead, Haechan is dead, Yuta is dead. We're fucking next! This is all of your faults. Every single one of you!" He yelled, stomping and turning away. 

"Jae..." Taeyong let go of Y/N to try and walk towards him. 

"No, you know what? I'm going for a walk. I hope you all are happy."


	10. Johnny's Insight

They all sat packed in the van, collectively silent. Even Jungwoo was with them, having left the car at the campsite. They were planning to return, so hopefully everything was left alone. Other raiders were more likely than zombies, but either was an undesirable outcome. 

They were on their way to see Johnny. Surprisingly, he had been incredibly cooperative in disclosing his location. She hadn't heard anyone tell him about the situation, but maybe he could just sense the tension? Regardless, they had a lot to discuss with him. He was strangely close by- not even a ten minute drive, and it wasn't long before they pulled up to the camp. 

The man was standing there, both hands in his pockets, waiting with a somber look on his face. Everyone piled out of the car, forming a rough semi-circle. 

"Hey, Johnny." Taeyong started, greeting him awkwardly. The man nodded in acknowledgement. He looked to Y/N in particular as well, but didn't do anything that she was expecting him to. Rather than wink or say something odd as he had done last time, he looked... sorry for her? 

Finally, they had nothing to do other than explain. Johnny stood and listened, saying nothing. Occasionally he would nod, or shift his gaze when a new person began to speak. It was hard to relive, even if it had just happened over the course of the last week. All in all, though, they had to break the news to Johnny. They had lost two more. 

"So, uh... we need a few lines on our tattoos. We figured we'd get Y/N on there as well. While we're here." It was only now that Johnny actually spoke. 

"I see. So I suppose that means you're staying for good?" He asked, looking her in the eyes. 

"I, uh... yeah." 

"So you'll be getting the tattoo as well?" She glanced over. All the boys were looking at her, hopeful. Well, she couldn't exactly turn them down now... Especially after everything she'd done. 

"Yeah, I'd love to." She said. It was definitely nerve wracking, but it was for the best. He nodded again. 

"Alright, then. I'll take you all in the tent one at a time." 

"You can go last if you want, Y/N." Taeyong leaned over and said near her ear. She nodded- that would be more comfortable. 

Taeyong went in first. While he was getting his tattoo done, the others were waiting outside. Taeil and Jungwoo were muttering to each other. Jaehyun was off on his own, brooding, no doubt. Mark looked as though he wanted to talk to the man, but decided against it, walking back to the car to perform some useless task. Finally, Doyoung approached Y/N. 

They hadn't talked much since their... unfortunate introduction. Still, he seemed perfectly comfortable sitting down right next to her. Either he was extremely bold, or just socially oblivious. 

"I'm happy you're getting the tattoo." He said shortly, looking at his half-disassembled radio in his hands. 

"Yeah... you don't seem like a tattoo kind of guy." She said, trying to start a conversation. He didn't say anything in return, but it was true. Taeyong, Taeil, and Jaehyun all had other tattoos, but Doyoung was clean. She wasn't actually sure where his group tattoo even was. 

"I don't blame you, you know." He offered, completely out of context. 

"Um... thank you?" She was confused. That was a little uncalled for. Did he think that she thought they blamed her? That would indicate that there was a solid reason to blame her. I mean... I guess that case could be made. "No one does." He added. "Not even Jaehyun." 

"I-" Before she could finish, Johnny let Taeyong out of the tent. 

"Doyoung, you're next up." The boy didn't even say goodbye as he shoveled the radio parts into his pocket, walking over. She had hoped Taeyong would keep her company, but he went to go speak to Mark, who was now on his way back. She knew she couldn't depend on him to babysit her all the time, but... it would have been nice to have someone to talk to. She knew that if she approached one of them they'd entertain her conversation, but she really didn't think it was necessary to inflict that on them right now. Ultimately, she decided to bite the bullet and sit alone with her thoughts. 

One by one, the guys entered and exited Johnny's tent. None of them looked to be in any severe pain, and each only took about ten minutes. She supposed it wasn't that hard to do that small of a tattoo, but still... He must have been good. Finally, it came her turn. Gritting her teeth as he called her name, she stood. It was the first time she had been inside his tent, and it was much different than she expected. 

There was a cot on the left side of the structure, and a stool on the right. A rough tattoo machine was positioned on a nearby crate, softly humming. She didn't even know where he had gotten it- or the parts to make it? All she could hope was that it was clean. 

"So, where do you want it?" He asked, motioning for her to have a seat on the makeshift bed. 

"Uh... I was thinking my side?" She asked lifting her shirt up slightly to point. 

"Good choice. Well, whenever you're ready?" She nodded, laying down and pulling her clothing up. He pulled on a new pair of rubber gloves, dragging the stool closer to her so as to get a better vantage point. He ran a hand over her skin, as if testing where exactly the best position was. Using both, he stretched her skin out slightly, making sure he had a clean canvas. It was still disorienting for one of his hands to be so warm, and the other so cool. Unfortunately, (but probably for the better), he was using his good hand to hold the needle, continuing to hold her flesh flat with his replacement. 

He disinfected the area with what she hoped wasn't a wet wipe, although it was suspiciously similar. He didn't have a stencil, so he was evidently just planning on doing it by hand. As he grabbed the handle and moved to tattoo her, she clenched her eyes shut, holding her breath. The pain never came. Finally, she was forced to look. 

"I can't give you ink like that." He said, sitting back and laughing. "You're gonna pass out." 

"I'm sorry..." She said apologetically. "I'm just... not used to this." He paused to think for a minute. 

"Oh, I know- get up." 

"What?" 

"Just do it." She did as he asked, standing up. He grabbed her waist, spinning her around to sit in the stool as he took a position in the cot. He hooked his thumbs under his shirt, pulling it over his head. He was surprisingly well defined, evidently strong in several regards. On his chest lay the same tattoo as the rest of the group. Her gaze shifted. 

"What? Surprised?" 

"I- I heard that you added your name to the others, but-" 

"You didn't think I'd get it too? I know I'm not always with them, but... I kind of consider myself part of the group." He explained. "Anyway, you're gonna fix it for me." 

"Excuse me?" 

"You heard me." He handed her the handle of the machine. "It's easy. Start with the lines- one through Haechan, the other through Yuta. After that, you just need to sign Y/N." 

"What if I mess it up?" She asked, hands already shaking nearly as much as the needle. 

"You'll be fine. Worst case, it's something to remember you by. Think of it this way- I'm trying to help you get more comfortable with the idea of the tattoo. I promise you it'll help." Finally, he managed to convince her. Laying her non-dominant hand on his chest, and steadying the tool with her other, she began. 

Thankfully, she hadn't fucked anything up. The lines were almost perfectly straight, although Johnny's breathing was definitely distracting her. It was when she came to her name that she got nervous. She tried to copy the handwriting as best as possible, and afterwards it turned out pretty well. 

"See? You're a tattoo artist now! Ready to do yours?" She nodded, laying down. Somehow, he had been right. She wasn't nearly as scared about this now. He began- the pain was definitely there... but not terrible. She felt a tinge of guilt every time she felt a line go through a name... who was it? 

"You may have to do this for them someday." He mentioned, wiping off the first few lines. 

"What are you talking about?" He continued drawing. 

"I won't be around forever, Y/N." 

"You can always come with us, we're-" 

"I know." He interrupted. "Taeyong told me. I'm headed Northeast with you guys, I'm considering joining you in your crack ass adventure. Still..." he continued, deliberately focusing on her skin. "Something could happen. It did to these poor guys. It could happen to me too. After all," he raised his arm, "I'm not exactly a stranger to flirting with death." He laughed before leaning down once more to finish up. "Or pretty ladies." He added. She sighed, ignoring the comment. 

"Don't say things like that. I'm sure it'll be fine. Everything is going back to normal." 

"Is that what you told yourself before Haechan and Yuta died?" She said nothing. "Sorry. Anyway, you're all done, feel free to take a look." She strained to see, leaning over and twisting her body. Each name was neatly scripted, marking her new unspoken covenant with these boys. A new addition graced hers, though. Each of the dead men's names was surrounded by floating petals. 

"Johnny... it's gorgeous." She whispered. He smiled. "Glad you like it. Now let's go show everyone." They walked out into the camp, where everyone was slowly gathering back together. Taeyong was the first to address her. 

"Hey, Y/N, how'd it go?" She lifted up her shirt, grinning and practically bouncing. 

"Look!" He reached out to touch it, tracing the names. 

"Wow, it turned out really well!" He said, smiling at her before turning to Johnny. "So... I suppose we'll see you soon?" 

"As always. But. You do owe me a fee this time." 

"Oh- shit, right. I forgot we spent our favor on Y/N." Taeyong muttered. Shit, yet another thing she was messing up. I mean, we don't really have anything right now, but I can drive back and grab something. The camp isn't far, I can-" 

"That won't be necessary." He smiled, grabbing Y/N's waist and pulling her into a kiss. She stood stone still, unsure of what to do. After what felt like far too long, he released her. "That'll suffice." He said. The other guys didn't even know what to do. As they loaded into the van, he waved one last goodbye. 

"I'll see you all very soon..."


	11. The Alchemist

Jungwoo looked up as Y/N entered into the medical tent. Normally, she was greeted with a simple nod or acknowledging glance, but today was different. He was sitting in his usual position, messing with vials and flasks of various colors. Also as usual, he was alone. That is, until she walked in. 

"What, are you here to steal something else?" He grumbled, not even bothering to say hello. 

"I-" she didn't even know how to respond to that, "No, I came to see how you were doing." 

"Hm." Obviously he wasn't in a talkative mood. Still, she felt that it was her obligation to try and have a conversation with him. 

"What are you working on?" 

"The cure, obviously. What else?" Her eyes widened slightly. He was still working on it? That didn't make sense... If it had been her, she would have thrown all that stuff out the second the incident went down. 

"Oh, really? I just thought-" 

"What? What did you think?"

"Well, I... I'm just surprised you still want to mess with it, after..." He stopped, finally making eye contact with her. 

"Why do I have anything to be worried about? It's not as if he didn't know the risks- oh, wait. He didn't. Because the test wasn't subject ready. I hadn't even tried it on an animal."

"I know, but I mean... you know." 

"No, really Y/N, I don't. What, you steal my experiment, give it to a desperate person, and now you're blaming me for his death? The death of my friend. You barely even knew him." He spat. "So forgive me for wanting to continue looking for a way to fix all this. I don't expect you to understand." 

"Jungwoo, I-" Just as she moved to object, Taeil walked in, evidently with a goal in mind. 

"Hey, we're ready to go when you are. Oh- hi, Y/N." And with that, he promptly exited as fast as he had entered.

"Go where?" 

"To get test subjects." He said, leaving her high and dry in the tent. Confused, she followed, jogging to catch up. He still wasn't making eye contact with her. 

"Test subjects? For what?" 

"For my fucking cotton candy machine, Y/N- what do you think?" 

"Oh... zombies?" Jungwoo stopped dead in his tracks. 

"No wonder you're out here getting people killed. How do you expect me to use live zombies as test subjects safely?" 

"I-" 

"Exactly. No, we will not be using live zombies." He spat. "I need small animals. The initial riddance of the disease is no longer an issue. Unfortunately, I don't have my test vial 7 to analyze the ingredients and how they reacted with each other, so I'll have to recreate that as well. We need to find out what exactly made Haechan go crazy. The most optimal animal would be a monkey, but obviously that would be hard to come by. I'll settle for rats." 

"So... you're going to get rats?" 

"Do you listen at all?" She was starting to get annoyed, but also worried. She had never seen Jungwoo act like this. He was normally so calm and caring. 

"Jungwoo, you're scaring me." She finally said. 

"Well excuse me." 

"No, seriously!" She stopped. Surprisingly, he stopped as well, turning to face her with a stone expression. "What happened to the Jungwoo I met in that van? The one that cared about everyone? The one that tested me for a concussion just because I knocked heads with Jaehyun?" 

"Maybe he got shot nine times, okay?!" He yelled. She practically jumped, astounded. He wasn't angry, though, he was crying. She finally figured it out- he wasn't mad at her, he was just grieving. After all, all anger had to come from somewhere. He was hurt. She decided to take a risk. 

Stepping forward to meet him, she took her sleeve and wiped his face off, hugging him. 

"I'm so sorry, Jungwoo. You don't deserve this- none of you do." She said softly. He stiffened up for a minute, but then suddenly relaxed, crying even harder.

"I just don't understand why this is happening. He was just a kid. They both were. Yuta's older than me, but honestly... We're all just kids." 

"I know." 

"It isn't fair." 

"I know." She didn't know what exactly to say to console him, so she decided to just stay there and let him cry it out. She didn't actually know how long they stood there, but she didn't mind. He finally began to speak again, breathing in sharply to clear his nose. 

"Fuck, Y/N, I'm sorry. I shouldn't put this on you. And..." He sighed. "I'm sorry for acting out." 

"It's completely fine." She consoled him, breathing deeply as well. "You... you have every right. It's been a lot to handle." Eventually, he dropped his arms, letting her go and stepping back, sighing again. He started laughing, but the tears were still there. He frantically wiped his face. 

"Look at me, I'm a mess. It's like you're babysitting." He said apologetically. "This is ridiculous, we have shit to do." She laughed as well. 

"I suppose you're right." 

"You wanna come with?" She glanced up, hopeful. 

"Really?" 

"Yeah, if you don't think rats are gross." 

"Rats are adorable." She said, laughing. He pointed in the direction of the van. 

"Well, I'm sure Taeil's waiting. Let's just hope he didn't bear witness to our little fiasco." 

"Agreed." 

They drove to the closest town. It was much bigger than the others- it was at least a small city. The highways were cracking beneath them, giving way to droves of weeds. Some of the buildings were collapsing, leaving her feeling a bit unsteady. Still, it was definitely the perfect place for rats. 

"You know the drill," Taeil said. "I'll be on the outskirts, buzz if you need anything. I'll... I'll make sure I'm available on radio this time." They both nodded, getting out of the car like sane people. (Thank God Jaehyun wasn't there to launch her into oblivion, this time). 

"If you were a rat, where would you be?" Jungwoo posed, looking around. 

"I spiritually relate to rats, if that counts." She offered. "But on a serious note, probably one of these gross buildings. I'm sure there's a fridge or two we can check." 

Sure enough, they encountered plenty of rats, mice, lizards, squirrels, etcetera. It took them more than a few tries to get used to catching them, but soon it became like a sort of game. Jungwoo even actually looked to be enjoying himself. She guessed that he didn't go out much, and although his bond with the members was definitely strong, this seemed to be getting through to him more than usual. Something about it was just putting him at ease. 

They did encounter a few zombies, but none of them were particularly dangerous. He even took the opportunity to teach her better stances. The ones she couldn't handle he easily killed in front of her. After close to three hours, they had ample subjects for Jungwoo's studies. Just as they decided this, though, a horde began forming. 

"We'd better get out of here." He warned her, receiving a nod in agreement. They quickly ran back towards the outskirts of town, meeting Taeil and driving back to camp. No one was around aside from the three of them: presumably all in their tents. In light of this, Y/N helped Jungwoo carry the animals back to his lab, then left him to his experiments. She was starting to realize that he very much valued alone time, no matter what terms they were on. 

Now, there was a lot to think about. She was still worried about Jaehyun- he evidently wasn't doing well after the disaster. Still, that was to be expected, and she presumed that he wasn't ready to spill his guts to the new chick just yet. Taeyong was surely upset in private, but he had to stay strong for the group. Would he open up? It was doubtful- he'd want to protect her. Doyoung... Doyoung was an enigma. She couldn't tell what he was feeling at any given moment. He was almost like a robot. Taeil could maybe use some help, but he hadn't exhibited any emotional issues in the van. He might be trying to take after Taeyong, staying strong for the benefit of everyone else. 

Mark. How would this be affecting him? He was normally so cheery and outgoing, and he evidently resonated deeply with Yuta and Haechan, so this may be hurting him more than she knew. Speaking of which- she hadn't seen him in quite a while. That was it, then, she'd go check up on Mark. It was the least she could do now...


	12. A Surprising Turn

"Hey, can I come in?" Y/N called softly, shaking the outside of the tent. Jungwoo was busy and had no idea where anyone was, much less someone specific. Taeil was out on a drive, and Taeyong and Jaehyun were in the woods doing... something. She wasn't going to question it. After looking around most of the camp, she had determined that Mark must have been inside his own tent. As expected, she received a response.

"W-who is it?" He sounded worried. That wasn't like him at all. Honestly, the fact that he was in his tent and not out leading someone in something wasn't like him. Not to mention that he should have known who it was. He knew everybody so well- something was up. 

"Um, it's the only girl who lives in your camp?" She said, concerned. 

"Oh, haha, sorry, yeah, I should have known." Silence.

"Is that... a yes?"

"A yes? For what?" 

"Can I come in?" 

"Oh! Yeah, for sure, for sure." Okay, this was getting weirder by the second. She carefully unzipped the flap, stepping inside and shutting it behind her. He didn't say anything, just staring at some pointless corner of his living space. She'd never been inside his tent before, so she took a quick glance around.

They moved fairly often, so obviously it wasn't completely set up, but there was a sleeping bag, a few boxes, some clothes littered around-nothing too strange. She noticed that one of the smaller boxes was full of small, black plastic objects: cassette tapes. She also noticed the matching walkman on the ground next to him. With no introduction to work with from him, she spoke first. 

"So... I came to check up on you, we haven't talked in a while. How are you doing?"

"Me? Oh, I'm great, I'm fantastic, no worries!" He smiled. "I was just listening to music!" He began swaying to the beat with a large grin on his face as if to prove it. 

"You don't have the earbuds in." He looked down. 

"You're right! I guess I just enjoy it that much!" Still standing, she watched as he put one of the buds in, performing the same little routine. She breathed out, staring. 

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked again, looking at him strongly. 

"Yep! Everything's good. Thanks for checking up, though! Glad we kept you around! So I'll see you later?" She hesitated, but nodded. 

"Yeah, I... I guess I'll see you." She walked out, zipping the flap slowly behind her. Just as she pulled it to the top, though, she had a quick change of heart. She pulled it down a third time, stepping back through again. "Actually, you know what? No. I know something is wrong, and if you don't tell someone it's gonna get worse." He was looking up at her now, eyes widening a little. 

"I- I don't know what you're talking about, I-" 

"Cut the shit, Mark! Is it Haechan and Yuta? Is that what's bothering you?" At this point, his eyes were watering, but he still had that stupid, plastic smile plastered onto his face. 

"That's bothering everyone, Y/N. It was a tragedy, but bad things happen!" He said. "It's just life!" This was getting tiring. She knelt down next to him. 

"This is ridiculous. You can't be happy all the time. People try to be happy by avoiding suffering, but that's stupid because you're going to suffer. We're all going to suffer- hell, we're all suffering! But suffering is what makes us appreciate it when we finally get to be happy again. Happiness and suffering are experiences that everyone deals with, so stop trying to pretend like you're not suffering." Without any warning, she grabbed him by the shoulders, wrapping him in her arms and putting a hand on the back of his head. 

"You can be upset. We're all upset. Just please don't hurt yourself trying to get past it." For a minute, he said nothing. He didn't move an inch. After a bit, though, his breathing began to get shaky. It wasn't long before he was full-on sobbing into her shoulder, practically convulsing with every breath. It was honestly hard to hear him through it all. 

"I- I don't wanna do this anymore, Y/N, I'm so tired." He cried, "We're supposed to be going to college, or getting dead end jobs, or making out with strangers in bars and regretting it in the morning. I'm not supposed to be the guidance counselor for nine other misguided children, I-" At this he stopped. Finally, he amended in a whisper, "Seven other misguided children." 

"I know, hun, I know. It's not fair, none of this is fair." She tried to comfort him. 

"And now you're having to take care of me like some sort of baby." He groaned, trying to pull away from her. She was just now noticing the dark circles under his eyes and the long red tracks on his face. This wasn't the first time he'd cried that day. 

"Sometimes you just have to be a baby, though." She said, looking to his eyes. He sighed, pulling his shirt up to wipe his eyes. 

"I just can't help but think that this is my fault. I know Taeyong's the leader, but sometimes I feel like I'm supposed to keep everyone's spirits up, give them positive direction, you know?" 

"And you do that so well!" She pressed, putting a hand on his knee. "When I first got into that van, I thought I had at least a 47% chance of getting kidnapped!" He laughed, sniffling. 

"You're kidding." 

"No, seriously! Like, this creepy goth kid picked me up off the street, dehydrated and alone, and then threw me in a van. With tinted windows!" 

"Those were Jaehyun's idea to begin with." He interjected. 

"Anyway, everyone was just staring at me, and then you just... smiled. You didn't even know who I was!" 

"I mean what did you want me to do, shoot you?" They laughed again, but as they settled down, she got more serious. 

"I'm not joking, though, Mark. You're one of the foundations of the group- I could tell from the moment I met you. You made me feel welcome in one of the least welcoming situations possible. You're such a good friend to everyone here, which is why I know that you're hurt by what happened- I wouldn't be surprised if you took it the hardest. That's sweet and I understand, but I can't stand to see you beat yourself up like this. 

"You are one of the sweetest, most considerate, dedicated guys I know- and I live in a camp with all of you. You deserve to be happy, and I promise we'll find a way to make that happen. But right now if you're sad, you just have to be sad. We can be sad together. Sometimes you have to go down if you wanna go up." 

After such a long speech, Mark cut her off, hugging her tightly. 

"Thank you, Y/N." They sat there for a moment as he finally calmed down. "I'm sorry." He said, laughing. Pulling back, she shook him jokingly. 

"Hey, what did I just tell you? No apologies! And I hope you feel better." He nodded, embarrassed. 

"Yeah, sorry... it's probably all the crying, I- shit, I said it again, huh?" 

"Yep. Hey, I know what will help you blow off some steam," she suggested, "Let's go kill some shit." His eyes lit up. 

"Really?" 

"Yeah, I'll ask Taeil if we can borrow the van!" 

With Mark feeling better already, they ran over to Taeil's tent like little kids, practically giggling along the way. Mark tried to knock (even though it was more than difficult seeing as how it was a tent). Still, Taeil heard.

"Hey. What's up?" He asked, sticking his head out. 

"Can we borrow the keys?" She asked. 

"Yeah, Y/N and I are going hunting!" Taeil eyed them both closely. 

"Hold on, I'll be right there." 

"Oh, we can just-" Mark started. 

"I said I'm coming." Taeil cut him off, closing his tent momentarily. 

"Ohhhhkay." Mark said awkwardly. "I guess we're having company." Y/N pushed him lightly, still smiling. It wasn't necessarily what they had originally planned, but she didn't want to overstep her bounds with anyone. 

"It's fine- it may not have been what we first thought, but if Taeil wants to come, I don't mind! He doesn't talk much with me anyway." Mark thought about it. 

"Good point, this could be fun! I'm sure he'd like to get his mind off of things, too." With that, Taeil walked out of the tent, stone faced, fully dressed, and ready to go. 

"Alright, ready when you are."


	13. Time for a New Ride.

"Taeil, this is the third town you've skipped!" Mark complained, pushing his shoulder lightly from the backseat. "We've been driving for almost an hour, when are you gonna stop?" 

"I'm looking for something specific." Taeil growled, stepping on the gas. 

"Specific like what?" 

"Specifically like you shutting your mouth."

"I don't know why you're so grumpy, you wanted to come." Well, that settled that. Thankfully, it wasn't long before they pulled up to a city. Not just a run-of-the-mill, big area, like a real city. Hundreds of apartment buildings, parking decks, and skyscrapers were strewn out across the landscape, settled in their dust and concrete prisons. It was much larger than the place they went to catch Jungwoo's rats. It begged the questions; how had Taeil found it? And why here, of all places?

"Alright, you guys wanted to bash some heads, there should be plenty here." Taeil stated, putting the car in park. "Don't tell Jaehyun, but I brought us two grenades each. If something happens and you end up in a sticky situation, you shouldn't have any trouble getting away." 

"Two each?" Mark asked. "Aren't you staying with the car?" 

"Why would I do that?" 

"Because you always do that." He responded. 

"That's not true. Y/N, do I always do that?" Taeil shot his glance over to her. Mark's quickly followed. 

"I, uh..." She stuttered. "I mean, I haven't known you that long, and-" 

"See? Y/N agrees with me." Taeil smirked with a satisfactory tone. 

"No she doesn't, she agrees with me!" Mark argued. 

"Guys!" She interjected. "Can we get on with it?" 

"I'm coming." Taeil said with an air of finality, turning off the engine and jumping out of the car. With some disdain, Mark followed, leading Y/N along. They walked through the city for some time, taking out any strays they managed to find. After a bit, Mark sighed. 

"Look, I know we practically just got here, but this blows. Let's find a horde!" He laughed. Taeil rolled his eyes, evidently not pleased with that idea. 

"Whatever, you do what you want. Y/N and I will find something fun to do." She looked back between them, both staring with expectations. She had no idea what she was supposed to do. 

"I, uh- we could all go together?" She offered. Both of them rolled their eyes, and finally Mark just grabbed her wrist, running down the street and onto a side road. 

"Catch us if you can!" he shouted back, sticking his tongue out at Taeil. She couldn't help but laugh, even if they had left their friend in the dust. "Now come on, let's go kill some shit!"

They tracked down a horde, taking out about twenty or thirty of the disgusting creatures in one big dance of death. It was rather cathartic. As soon as they finished, though, Taeil came out of nowhere, surveying the damage. 

"Pretty impressive." He stated dully. 

"Shut up, I know you're not surprised." Mark muttered. 

"Mind if I borrow Y/N?" He asked. 

"Why?" Mark returned, suspicious. It wasn't often that Taeil asked for anything, but that made it all the more strange and unsettling. Taeil raised an eyebrow, looking between the two. 

"What does it matter? Can I not speak to a teammate" Unless I'm... interrupting something." 

"Yeah, you are!" Mark noted, earning two surprised glances. "Not like that! I- I just meant- Look, this was our plan to begin with, you just showed up!"

"Can I take Y/N or not?" 

"Sure, but I'm coming with you." He argued. Taeil rolled his eyes. 

"You've got to be kidding me." 

"Take it or leave it." He took it. 

This back and forth disaster continued for several hours. Mark dragged her off, they killed some zombies, Taeil found them, they killed some zombies- and again, and again, and again. Every time, she fell into this position where both boys obviously wanted her alone, and she had no idea where to go. In one of these instances, though, something happened. 

They did manage to find a few groups, adequately bashing heads and taking out their anger and sadness on something other than the rest of the camp. They thankfully never found themselves in a particularly dangerous situation. It wasn't until Mark went on a strangely exciting slashfest and Taeil chased after him that she found herself alone in the foyer of a broken down office building. 

Surprisingly, the silence was kind of nice. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't really been alone alone since Jaehyun had picked her up that day in the street. Of course, she had her tent and all that, but it wasn't real solitude. Now, in such a big place with only two humans around, she felt more at peace than she had in a while. She loved her new friends, but this was refreshing. 

She walked down the street, looking up at the sky. Although still kind of green, it looked clearer than usual, and the breeze was nice. Closing her eyes, she breathed in. Somehow, for a single moment, it didn't smell like death. Just... fresh air. There was probably some scientific answer with the air pollution or the buildings filtering the wind, but she didn't really care right now. 

Cracking spines wasn't exactly the most stomach-settling activity, but this walk was helping. She hoped it could go uninterrupted forever. By the rules of nature, though, this meant that it had to be interrupted. 

"Hey." She spun around, looking for the source of the voice. "Over here." Finally, she caught sight of him. Taeil was standing a good bit away, in the destroyed entrance of what looked to be an accounting firm. She walked over, tilting her head slightly in curiosity. He looked fairly nonchalant, but more importantly, like he was doing absolutely nothing. 

"What are you doing?" She asked, trying to make conversation as she approached. 

"Standing. You?" 

"Uh, walking." They looked at each other awkwardly. Well, this was going well. Finally, Taeil spoke again. 

"So, where's Mark?" She glanced to his eyes. 

"He's not with you? I kind of figured you guys would still be at it." 

"Wait, you're alone?" He asked, eyes widening a bit. 

"I mean, yeah, I guess I am." Before she could even inquire as to why this was important, he roughly grabbed her by the wrist, dragging her through the entryway of the building. She sputtered, searching for words as she entered the significantly darker space. The rushing of the wind was gone, replaced with the deafening silence of a dark, carpeted room. None of the lights were on, and she could barely see anything. She could most certainly feel it, though, as two hands very firmly pushed her against a wall, the wooden trim digging into her back. 

"What-" she started to ask, as she felt him standing directly in front of her. Cutting her off, he pressed his lips to hers softly, silencing her. The kiss paused for a minute as he dragged back, taking a breath. She opened her eyes slightly, adjusting to the darkness. Taeil's were still closed as he sighed. She could feel the heat of it on her face. With that, he grabbed her face and kissed her a second time, much more forcefully than before. 

At some point, she found herself kissing back. It wasn't long before they were making out in this abandoned building. As it continued, though, she started coming to her senses. They were completely vulnerable to attack, not to mention Taeil had shown no interest in her before. What was he trying to pull now? Finally, she pushed him off a bit, breaking contact. 

"What's the matter?" He asked, gripping her sides desperately. 

"This isn't right." She sighed. After all, the last person who had kissed her had been... Haechan. "Look, I don't even know why you're doing this." 

"But you like it." He stated. 

"I didn't say that." 

"I mean... you kind of did." He laughed lightly. Noticing that she was not amused, he leaned in. "Look, you're the only girl around. People are bound to catch feelings." 

"Are you really catching feelings, though? Or are you just trying to get laid?" He looked taken aback. 

"When did I ever even suggest that I was trying to do that?" She raised an eyebrow, glancing down at his wandering hands. Quickly removing them, he looked embarrassed. "That was an accident." 

"We're fooling around when there are more important things to be done." She said. At this, Taeil groaned, getting more annoyed. 

"Come on, Y/N, who cares?" He leaned in for another kiss, only partially successful, as she only let it go on for a few seconds. 

"Look, we should go." She said quietly, dipping out from under him and towards the door as smoothly as possible. Without another word, they left the building.


	14. Avoid this Discussion

Everyone was silent on the car ride home. Mark had tried to start a conversation when they met back up, but it wasn't long before he sensed tension. In light of that, he didn't want to interrupt. Still, Y/N and Taeil couldn't exactly mull over what had happened in front of him. It seemed that he wasn't willing to let it go, though. 

When they got back to camp, people were beginning to pack up. She guessed that they had finally decided to get back on the road. Subsequently, this meant that most of the tents were packed up, save a few personals as well as the huge storage area. When the van was in park, Mark turned to her. 

"So, do you wanna-" 

"Actually, Y/N and I need to have a conversation." Taeil cut him off, getting out of the driver's side door. 

"Didn't you talk while we were hunting?" 

"Didn't you?" They were both glaring at each other, evidently in some sort of mental turf war. Finally, Mark sighed, scoffing as he turned away. 

"Whatever, have fun." He muttered, walking towards Taeyong, who was packing up bins. She wanted to go after him, but once again, Taeil was dragging her off somewhere. She tried to pull back, but he had a surprisingly strong grip. It was only a minute before they were far enough away from everyone for his satisfaction. 

"So, are we gonna talk about this?" 

"Talk about what, Taeil? I didn't do anything!" He put a hand to the bridge of his nose as if trying to clear a headache. 

"I kissed you." 

"Yes." 

"And you kissed me." She stayed silent, unwilling to admit that fact. "You did." He pressed further. 

"I... suppose." 

"So?" She breathed in deeply, shutting her eyes. She wasn't sure exactly what she wanted to say. Did she like him? She had been too focused on all of the more pressing issues to even consider starting a relationship with anyone. Not only that, but she wasn't all that familiar with Taeil. He had driven her places, occasionally helped her out, but that was all. Was it what she wanted? Did he even know if it was what he wanted? How would it make everyone else feel? 

"Listen, Taeil..." She started, glancing awkwardly to the side. "I appreciate it- I really do, but I think you might be... confused." He raised an eyebrow, emotion unchanging. 

"Confused?" 

"Yeah, like you said, I'm the only girl in a group of guys. I'm sorry if that's pushing a few of you off the rails, but-" 

"Wait, a few of us?" He asked, arms crossing. "Has someone else made a move on you?"

"What does it matter?" He glared accusingly. 

"Oh my goodness, someone has! Who was it?"

"I never said that! And- well, you saw Johnny, I-" 

"Oh, come on, Y/N, that's not what I'm talking about. Who else? Are you already dating someone?" 

"No!"

"So you just decided it would be fun to string more than one of us along." He concluded. 

"I'm not stringing anyone along!" 

"Really? Because it looked like you were making out with me in that lobby, but now that we're here it's some big problem for you." 

"First of all, you started it!" She responded, getting more annoyed. "Excuse me if I'm hesitant, but I don't know you. I don't know any of you! And you don't know me!" 

"I literally have your name permanently inked into my side, but I appreciate the enthusiasm." He growled, also annoyed. 

"Look." She sighed, "I would do anything for you guys. You literally pulled me in off the streets, I probably owe you all my life, and you're all I have left. I'd never want to hurt any of you, for any reason. Which is why I have to say no right now. It's just not a good time, and I think you're really upset. That's fine, we all are, but I don't want to make it any worse for you. I just hope you can understand that." 

He looked to her, then the ground, then her again. Finally, he hung his head. 

"I get it. I... I'm sorry for putting you in a weird situation." Happy with this, she smiled, giving him a hug. 

"It's all good, as long as we're on the same page!" He pulled back, putting a hand to the back of his head sheepishly. 

"I guess I kinda made a fool of myself, huh?" Before she could answer, he waved a hand. "Come on, we oughta help pack up." With that, they started back towards the group. She went to go take care of her own tent, while he moved to help with Mark and the bins. It didn't take her long to pack up, as she had been too distraught lately to bother unpacking. Once she was done, she left to put her stuff in the van. 

On her way, she ran into Mark again. Remembering their return to camp, she waved to get his attention, apologetic that Taeil had dragged her off before. 

"Hey! Mark!" He looked up, but his expression wasn't displaying his usual cheer. 

"Oh, done with your meeting? Or were you guys just making out again?" This caught her off guard. 

"I- what are you talking about?" 

"Don't act like I'm stupid, Y/N, you're evidently hooking up with Taeil." 

"We're not hooking up! I just- he kissed me, and I-" 

"Wait, you actually were making out?" he asked incredulously. She couldn't tell if he was angry, or just disappointed. She ran a hand through her hair, trying to find a way to remedy the situation. 

"It's not that, Mark! It's complicated, I-" 

"Forget it, Y/N, I can literally see the rash on your lip." Eyes widening, she touched a finger lightly to her upper lip. Sure enough, there was the sting of recent friction. So much for keeping it a secret- it was actually written all over her face. 

"Look, Mark..." 

"No, no, it's fine. You can do whatever you want with whoever you want." Before he walked away, he muttered one last comment. "I just didn't take you for the easy type." At that, he walked away, grabbing one of the last boxes. 

"Hey! Y/N! Get in, we're almost ready to go!" Taeil called from the van. Mark tilted his head at her, as if to conclude his point. Why did Taeil have to have the worst timing? Still, she didn't really have a choice, so she walked over and hopped in. 

Trying to avoid any awkward interactions, she chose to sit next to Jungwoo. While she'd prefer to be closer to Taeyong, he was in shotgun as usual, and Jaehyun was always in the next row. At least she'd be far enough away from Taeil to make Mark comfortable. 

"Alright, since some of you weren't here earlier, I'll go over the plan again." Taeyong mentioned as they began to pull out. "We're going to go see Johnny before we keep headed towards the ocean. Hopefully he has some gas we can swing, and maybe he'll even want to go with us." Having Johnny inside the car and the camp was an idea that she would have to get used to. After all, considering their last interaction, she didn't know if she quite trusted him to leave her be while she was sleeping. 

"After that," Taeyong continued, "We'll move as quickly as we can to our escape plan. We'll have to camp periodically, both for fuel conservation and our healths' sake, but it shouldn't take more than a week. Sound good?" Everyone nodded, clearly tired for all of their own reasons. As Jungwoo was only taking up one seat in the row, she quietly asked him, 

"Do you mind if I lay down on the extra seats?" After confirming that he had no problem with it, Y/N fell asleep to the rumbling of the tires beneath her. She wasn't sure how long she slept for, but she woke up to total chaos. 

"How could you not calculate for this?!" She heard a rough, familiar voice shout. Jaehyun was angry about... something. 

"We couldn't get gas while we were out yesterday, it offset the plans!" Taeil said back. "Stop acting like this is something I could have helped!" 

"No! Because it is!" 

"Guys, calm down." Taeyong's voice quieted the both of them calmingly. "I'm sure we can figure something out." She rubbed her eyes, sitting up as he kept speaking. "Johnny's is less than a mile West. And the map says there's a city about ten miles Northeast. We'll walk to Johnny's to get more gas, and then we can fuel back up at the next stop." 

"Johnny may not have any gas..." Mark mentioned reluctantly. "He's kind of... random with what he sells." Judging by Taeyong's expression, he knew this was true. 

"Okay, so we split up." He offered. "Some of us go to Johnny's, the rest start walking towards the city. If Johnny has gas, we can pick the others up on the way, and if not, some of us will already be ahead in getting it. They can go into the city, grab a different car, and drive back." She had to admit it sounded pretty solid, but she refrained from giving her input. 

"Who goes where, though?" Doyoung asked from in front of her. She had almost forgotten he existed. 

"I'll go to the city, it's the harder run." Taeil offered. "And like Jaehyun said, this is kinda my fault." Jaehyun hummed with a bit of sick satisfaction. 

"Take Y/N too, then. The both of you can suffer." He muttered. Taeil looked concerned at this. 

"No, it's alright, I'll go alone." He said shortly. 

"Are you sure?" Taeyong asked, curious. "It's not safe to be on your own, Y/N can-"

"Really!" He said loudly. Clearing his throat in the newfound silence, he elaborated. "Really, I'd rather go alone. I have plenty of grenades, and I'm honestly the best fighter out of all of us anyway." Jaehyun looked as though he wanted to argue with this, but Taeyong shot him a look. 

"Alright, if you're sure... The rest of us can go to Johnny's- I don't really think there's a need to guard the van." And with that, their plan was set in motion. Something didn't feel right to Y/N as Taeil set off on his own, but she wasn't really in a position to complain. Plus, they had told her the walkie-talkies had a ten mile range, so she was comforted by the fact that she would most likely be able to contact him. 

Now, it was time to see Johnny for a third time...


	15. Exodus (Part 1)

"Please, just consider it?" Taeyong begged as they sat around the fire. Johnny shook his head. 

"No dice, your majesty. I fly solo." He said in return, pulling a spit with some unknown meat out from over the open flame. "I appreciate your generosity, I really do, but I'll be fine on my own." Taeyong wasn't going to settle easily, though. They had walked to Johnny's camp, only to find that he didn't have any gas. Johnny suggested that they head to a tiny town another mile West. He said that it had barely been touched since the epidemic, and they could easily hotwire a car to truck an assload of gas back to their abandoned van. After receiving this information, though, Taeyong had asked Johnny to start accompanying them. While it was unclear whether he even planned to board a ship with them, he certainly wasn't planning on carpooling. 

"This is ridiculous, Johnny. It's much safer to come with us." 

"Forget about me, I've made it this long. You should be more worried about Taeil. Where is he again?" 

"Headed Northeast. We'll get in contact once we get back to the van- might take us a day, though. That's not my concern right now, though! Please, I promise we won't be too much of a bother. It's just more practical."

"I understand, but-" 

"Doyoung!" Taeyong called. Sparking to attention, he walked over. 

"Yeah?" 

"What are the statistics of death rates in groups versus solidarity?" 

"Uh..." Doyoung looked at his laptop- why was he even carrying that around? After typing a few things in, he shrugged. "I can tell you the third highest leading cause of death is a fatal accident. Also most people die alone." Taeyong looked at Johnny as if the fact had completely proved his point.

"See? It's better in a group." 

"Oh, is that why Haechan and Yuta are still alive?" He asked. Everyone went silent. For a moment, it seemed like even the fire had paused its crackling in horror. "Sorry, that was uncalled for." Johnny muttered. "But my answer is still no." 

"It's... fine." Taeyong said in return, just as awkwardly. 

"If you're so worried about people being alone, you should get on the road, go get your boy." 

"Oh, that's right, the sooner we go get that car, the sooner we can pick up Taeil." Jungwoo interjected, happy to break up the tension. Taeyong stood, sighing. 

"I'm sure we'll pass you on the way back. Radio me if you change your mind." And with that, they were off once more. 

The walk to the next town wasn't bad at all- as Johnny had said, it was just over a mile. At first, Y/N was curious as to how they hadn't known about it. After all, it would have been easier for them to all just come here. Once they arrived, though, it was clear that the place wouldn't have appeared on any map. It could barely be called a town- more like a severely large neighborhood. 

There were maybe... 50 houses? That was a rough estimate. There was indeed a gas station, as well as two restaurants and three stores. There were maybe three stoplights as far as she could tell. Taeyong looked out over all of it. 

"Alright, everyone- let's be as quick as possible. Doyoung, you know how to hotwire a car, so how about you take Mark and Y/N and pick us out a new temporary ride. Y/N, let's have you drive since Taeil is gone." She didn't know if Doyoung or Mark could drive, but they both seemed a bit uneasy about that decision. She wasn't going to ask why. 

"I'll take Jungwoo and Jaehyun to go grab as many gas containers as we can fill. Drive the car back to the gas station as soon as possible so you can help us out. Sound good?" They weren't really in a position to complain. Walking off into the center of the town, the two boys with Y/N were completely silent. Trying to make conversation, she pointed out a car. 

"How about that one?" She asked. 

"Too small." Doyoung commented. "It needs to fit 7, potentially 8." 

"Alright, well..." She saw a minivan. "That one?" 

"Ugly." Mark said in return. Growing annoyed, she clicked her tongue. 

"Whatever, you guys find one." She grumbled. 

"Aww, what's the matter, Y/N?" Mark taunted. "Grumpy now that your boyfriend isn't here?" 

"Taeil is not my boyfriend." She shot back. 

"Oh, right, you just make out with anyone. Well, I guess there are plenty of options, hmm? I wonder who's next! Maybe Taeyong? Or Jungwoo- strong silent type. Oh! You could go back to Johnny and-" 

"What is your problem?" She seethed, glaring at him. "I told you, it wasn't my intention for anything to happen! Go yell at Taeil if you have a problem, he started it!" 

"My problem? Stop trying to hook up with the entire camp, maybe!" 

"I bet you're just jealous." She stuck her tongue out rudely. Right as he was about to yell back, Doyoung called them over. 

"Guys, get in. We're using this one." The bickering duo looked over to where Doyoung was. He was looking through the open passenger door of a silver Nissan. It wasn't the classiest, but it would certainly do- and he had gotten it running while they were fighting. 

"What if I wanna drive?" Mark asked, annoyed. 

"You can't." Doyoung said shortly. "Plus, even if you could, Taeyong said Y/N was doing it." Nervous, she jumped into the drivers' seat, looking at everything in front of her. Obviously, it was already running, so no need for the keys or the ignition. Making sure that the doors were closed and the mirrors were adjusted, she looked to the boys. 

"Seatbelts, please." Both groaned, but reluctantly put them on. Shifting the car into drive, she headed back towards the gas station where the other three were already piling gas. 

"Oh, you're just in time!" Taeyong called as she pulled up. "Here, pop the trunk, we'll load up." 

"Isn't it a little dangerous to just have loose gas in the back of a car?" Jaehyun asked skeptically. 

"I'm sure it'll be fine." The leader replied, grabbing as many of the little red containers as he could carry. It only took about five minutes to load up, and it was so efficient that Mark and Doyoung didn't even have to help. Once they were done, the other three jumped in as well. Taeyong was the only one who instinctively buckled- Doyoung had moved to give him shotgun. 

"Alright, let's had back to Johnny's!" 

"Wouldn't it be faster to just go straight for the van?" Jaehyun mentioned, confused. Of course, everyone knew this was true. In addition, everyone also knew why Taeyong wanted to go back to Johnny's camp. They didn't have time to argue with him, though, they needed to pick up Taeil. 

"We'll see him again." Y/N said comfortingly as she pulled out of the tiny town, heading East. As they drove over the rocky terrain, Jaehyun and Mark did everything they could to heckle her abilities with the vehicle. It was starting to annoy her, as she had thought she bonded with Mark after the unfortunate turn of events that occurred prior. Now he was almost as vehement as Jaehyun. It was worse, too, since he had a reason. She wasn't sure why the Taeil situation bothered him so much, but it evidently did. She wasn't going to hash it out in front of their entire crew, though, so she supposed it would just have to wait. Still, it didn't stop them from constantly bombarding her with commentary. 

"Left as in that way!" 

"The wheel- yeah, that turny thing? That's what makes us go where we wanna!" 

"I could drive better in reverse!" 

"The long skinny pedal, Y/N, come on! We don't have all day!" 

"What are you, crazy?!" Finally, Taeyong turned around, glaring at the both of them. 

"That's enough. Another word out of you two, and you don't get any dinner." The threat of missing out on food just barely managed to get them to shut up, but she still occasionally heard them snickering to each other about who knew what. She silently promised herself not to let it bother her. Thankfully, her prayers were soon answered as the silhouette of a city appeared in the distance. 

"We're here."


	16. Exodus (Part 2)

The skyscrapers towered over them as they exited the van, the shadows casting across each other and giving everyone a sense of unease. As they settled on their feet, everyone stopped and listened, begging for the sweet chorus of silence. Unfortunately, a different symphony touched their ears. The moaning and screaming of what had to have been thousands racked the walls, some more recent than others. The place was definitely infested. 

"We're probably looking at about a half-population." Jaehyun said calmly, startling Y/N by cutting the air with his voice. She forgot how long it had been since they'd talked, and hearing his voice in such a direct manner caught her off guard. Doyoung agreed with his statement. 

"Based on the past statistics, I'd say so. That would mean for every thousand feet or so, each of us would be outnumbered 4 to 1." He said, validating Jaehyun's initial theory. 

"It may be better to just go around." Mark offered. "We may have enough gas to make it to an empty area." 

"We can't just leave Taeil." Jungwoo pointed out. "There's a high chance he's here." Rolling his eyes, Mark asked, 

"Oh, really? Has he answered his radio?" 

"No." Taeyong said. "And that's worrying." 

"If he doesn't answer, it's his fault if his ass gets left." He grumbled. 

"Mark!" The leader reprimanded him with a glare. Sighing, the boy backed off. 

"Sorry, sorry. We'll find him. So, do we split up, or stick together?" Y/N wasn't so sure she liked either of those options. Staying together was probably safer, but it meant that they would have to take several times longer to find Taeil. Who knew what insane situation he had gotten himself into at this point? Still, splitting up... the memory of her last experience doing so was still fresh in her mind. Thankfully, Taeyong made the decision for her. 

"Split up, we can cover more ground. No one wanders off alone, though. I don't care if you get in a fight or one of you gets injured, you stay together under all circumstances." Everyone nodded. "Alright, I'll go with Doyoung, Jungwoo and Mark stick together, which leaves Y/N and Jaehyun." The latter looked quite annoyed with this, but surprisingly said nothing. 

"We'll go West," Taeyong directed, "Mark, you guys go North, and Y/N and Jaehyun go East. Everyone move to the right and we'll eventually all meet back at the van. Keep your radios on Channel 7, if you need help or you find Taeil, call everyone. Sound good?" Again, everyone agreed. As much as Taeyong hated to admit it, he was fairly skilled at directing and motivating his teammates. He had even made it so that Jaehyun wasn't complaining. Speaking of...

As they split off, Y/N watched him. Despite the eerie noises, they hadn't encountered any zombies as of yet, so they were just walking in silence. His strides were longer than hers, so she occasionally had to do a little sprint just to keep up. He obviously wasn't concerned with Ty's 'stick together' rule. 

"You're awfully quiet." She noted, trying to spark up a conversation. 

"That's just how I am." Laughing, she argued, 

"No it isn't. Shouldn't you be chewing me out for something?" 

"Fine, stop being fucking annoying and talking to me." Unsure whether to take it seriously or as a joke, she continued pestering him. 

"What's wrong? You seem more angsty than usual." No response. "Is it the weather? Or you're astrology? What's your sign? Are you an Aquarius? I bet you're an Aquarius." 

"Oh my God, just shut up." He demanded. Going silent, Y/N just watched as he pressed a hand to his nose. "You really want to know? Fine. You fucking broke Mark and I don't fucking like it." This surprised her. 

"Broke Mark? What did I do?" 

"I don't know! I haven't talked to either of you! All I know is that he's not acting normal, and he's evidently mad at you. Therefore, I can only assume that you did something to him. Conclusion: you broke Mark." Huffing, she crossed her arms. 

"I didn't do shit. He caught feelings for me and he's mad that Taeil made a move first." At this, all the anger dropped out of his face, changing to wide-eyes confusion and shock. 

"Wait- Mark caught- and Taeil, he-" 

"Yeah, basically." 

"So that's why Taeil insisted on going off by himself." 

"I... guess so?" Y/N didn't really know any of them well enough to jump to that conclusion. 

"He's not gonna be in the city. I'll bet you he's wandering around in the desert trying to get his head on straight. We need to go find him before he gets eaten by an armadillo or something." Reaching for his walkie-talkie, Jaehyun looked to make sure he was on Channel 4. Before he could press the button, though, Y/N grabbed it out of his hand. 

"Wait! You can't tell them!" 

"Why not? We need to find Taeil." 

"Yeah, but... If you tell them he's not here, they're gonna ask how you know. I'm sure he's fine, can't we just sweep the city first? We need materials anyway, right?" jaehyun looked suspiciously at her, trying to sense any ulterior motives. Her fake smile was a dead giveaway, but he couldn't think of any reason to argue. They did need gasoline, soap, and food, among other things. 

"I suppose... I just didn't expect this from Mark." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" As she asked this, Jaehyun grabbed her forearm and yanked her to the side, stretching her muscles painfully. Stepping to walk behind her, he sliced the head off a zombie that had walked up behind her. 

"Close call, thanks." She muttered. Recomposing himself, he pointed in the general direction that the thing came from, indicating the oncoming horde. 

"More where that came from, ready up." It didn't take long for them to finish off the group, mostly due to Jaehyun's fighting skill. Y/N could adequately take out the creatures now, but she was nothing compared to his grace and accuracy. Now that she wasn't consistently fearing for her life in these fights, though, she could finally watch him work.

Unlike Haechan, who seemed to enjoy the maulings, and Mark, who needed a vent for his anger, jaehyun looked completely calm when fighting. Occasionally his face would twitch or his eyes would close as a reaction to a movement, but for the most part he looked like a statue. Every move seemed to come from muscle memory, taking out rows of perpetrators like he was just grinding for drops in a video game. As he took the last one out, he breathed out, shaking blood off his hand. Glancing to Y/N, he exhaled. 

"What are you looking at?" She shook her head. 

"Nothing. We should keep going." At that moment, though, their coms flared to life. Through the static, simultaneously, Jungwoo's voice rang through. 

"Hey, uh, we could use some help over here. Got a big horde coming and not sure we can handle it." 

"Where are you?" Taeyong. 

"We're about five blocks past the tall blue building with the bent service needle." Looking up, both Y/N and Jaehyun locked onto the same building. 

"We're close, we'll come cover you." Jaehyun spoke into the machine, pointing in the direction they were going to walk. 

"Alright, hurry over." 

"We'll stay on track." Taeyong's voice spoke through the static again. "Let us know if you need us too." They jogged over to the area, and sure enough, there was a small crowd of zombies all headed in the same direction. It looked as if they were coming up on the back of the herd, so their best option would be to fight through to the others by taking out the rear. If they had any further issues, they would call. 

It all ran surprisingly smoothly, and after a few minutes, Y/N saw Mark and Jungwoo through the mess. There were only about thirty or so left by that point, so she relaxed and continued observing the others. Jungwoo seemed very hesitant to kill anything, but would shoot if they got too close. She couldn't even tell if he was carrying a knife. 

Soon, the herd was narrowed to twenty, and then ten. It was only at this point that she noticed something was wrong. Very wrong. Jungwoo was now completely frozen, staring into the crowd. She was still stuck looking at their backs, so she couldn't see what was so horrifying. They had seen the grossest stuff: faceless zombies, ones that ate other zombies, teeth rotting, eyeballs missing, the works. So what was wrong? 

Not long after, Mark froze as well. They were both staring at the same zombie. It looked fairly generic. Adult male, purple skin, groaning along with the rest of them. If anything, he was in good condition for a diseased. She wanted to simply watch, but couldn't help but jump in as it started to make its way towards the boys. 

"Mark! Jungwoo! Watch out!" She pulled up her machete, ready to lop the thing's head off, when one of them screamed. 

"No! Wait! Stop!" It was Jungwoo. In synchronization to the cry, Mark leaped forward to catch her hand, practically tackling her to keep her from stabbing the threat. 

"What the fuck is wrong with you! That zombie is about to kill you!" At this, Jungwoo ran over, face still covered in shock. With both of its targets moving, the creature turned around to follow its victims. Now Jaehyun was captured in its curse as well, lip shaking in some unknown emotion. Turning to look, she saw its face. It looked vaguely familiar... Not someone she knew, but a picture or a reference, maybe? That was when Jaehyun said it. 

"...WinWin?"


	17. A Lose-Lose Scenario

Ring.

Ring. 

Ring. 

The bell. She had forgotten about the bell. So much had happened since she had last heard it. Still, the ringing was eerily the same as the first day she had witnessed it. Jaehyun even had a near identical look on his face. This time, though, the tension surrounding the moment was all too real. She watched, unmoving, taking it all in. 

Jungwoo seemed the most shaken, eyes wide and skin glistening. He was just as frozen as Y/N. Next was Mark, torn between staring at the final corpse and attempting to shake his friend out of his state. Taeyong was muttering something under his breath, but she couldn't make it out. He was evidently fading in and out of reality. Doyoung wasn't moving either, but it was more from an observatory standpoint. Jaehyun was the most focused, grabbing Taeyong and Y/N by their wrists and pulling them out of the way. Mark finally snapped into action and did the same for Jungwoo. Doyoug followed easily. 

"Why is the bell ringing?" He snarled, trying to get an answer out of Taeyong. "This place is already crawling with zombies. How is it just now being declared completely overrun?"

"Wait, declared?" Y/N cut in. "So there's a real person ringing the bells? In that case, where are they? And why do they stay? What kind of job is-" 

"Cool it down. We have no idea who rings the bells. They could be auto-generated. All the more reason why this ringing is strange." He was right- regardless of why, the bell was ringing. Were there more zombies coming?

"We have to get to safety." Taeyong prompted, agreeing. 

"We can't leave WinWIn." Jungwoo argued.

"We're not going to leave him. We'll stay close by, and.. figure out what to do." Their leader consoled him. 

"What are you talking about?" Doyoung asked. "He's basically dead. We should... deal with it. Don't pretend like we have the resources to-" This earned him a glare as he trailed off. 

"Now is not the time, man." Jaehyun whispered under his breath.

"Let's go, one of these buildings has to be intact." Taeyong said, walking the opposite direction. The others hesitantly followed, Jungwoo still practically being dragged. The zombie-fied WinWin attempted to follow, but he was fairly easy to outrun. It wasn't long before Taeyong settled on an old, abandoned McDonalds. The tiles were just as grimy as they were when the restaurant was functioning. 

"Look." Jaehyun started, uncaring of the discomfort. "We should just go. It's too late for him. I don't even know how he got all the way out here."

"Stop talking about him like he's just another zombie!" Jungwoo yelled. "We could still save him!" 

"How? You saw him! There's no guarantee his human body is even still alive." 

"Shut up!" Jungwoo shouted in his face. "I swear, I can get the cure right. We just need to bring him back and-" 

"Jungwoo, it's not even done. We can't just cart around a zombie, it's too dangerous. You're putting everyone here at risk because of your feelings." 

"You should be ashamed of yourself!" He screamed, tears beginning to run down his cheeks. "At least I have feelings regarding WinWin! You just want to pretend like he's still dead and move on! How can we do that after... after what happened?" 

"You're just trying to make up for the fact that it's your fault he's dead!" Jaehyun shouted back. The accusation rang through the empty space, echoing in their heads. What did Jaehyun mean, it was Jungwoo's fault? Had something happened? WinWin had died before Y/N joined the group, so she had never asked... 

"Jaehyun, that's enough!" Ty pulled him back by the elbow, placing himself between the two. "Jungwoo, he's right about one thing- we can't afford to risk everyone's lives to take WinWin with us. We can let him live in peace here, he-" 

"Live in peace?! Are you fucking kidding me? That's the most ridiculous shit I've ever heard!" Now Y/N was really starting to worry. Out of all of them, Jungwoo was the last person she expected to have such an outburst. As she thought this, though, he ran out the front door, pulling their barricading bar out from the handles and rushing down the street. 

"Fuck... we've gotta get him." Doyoung said. Well, obviously. All of them went out, trying to follow in his footsteps. As soon as they made it into the main road, zombies started pouring out of buildings and rushing towards them. 

"How did he get through all of this?" Mark asked, breathing heavily as he took out a few. 

"Who knows? We need to find him before he gets himself hurt." Jaehyun growled, firing his shotgun into the crowd. 

"Y/N- I know this is a lot, but we actually need your help this time around." Doyoung muttered, joining the fight himself. It only took them a few minutes to clear the vast majority of the bastards, making a path in the direction they had seen their friend go. Still, he was nowhere to be seen. 

"Hurry!" Taeyong motioned to the gap. "Let's keep moving!" Staring at the closing pathway, she shifted her weight, natural instincts kicking in. Mark quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her along after their leader, moving back towards the South side of the city. 

"There! I see him!" She heard Doyoung's voice above the footsteps. Sure enough, Jungwoo was running towards a lone zombie. 

"WinWin!" He yelled, still crying. "It's me! It's Jungwoo!" The creature didn't respond, its dead eyes staring back at the source of the closest loud noise. "I'm sorry, WinWin! I'm really sorry! This is all my fault! I can fix you, though! Just come home with us, fight the disease, we can fix it!" 

"Jungwoo, you idiot, get back here!" Jaehyun snarled, running past the others to try and get to him. Breaking through, he jammed his arms under Jungwoo's, pulling them up so that his inner elbows were settled in his armpits. "Stop it! You don't know what you're doing!" In a strange fit of athleticism, Jungwoo stepped on his foot, then jammed his leg into Jaehyun's knee, surprising him with the pain. Breaking free, he approached WinWin again. 

"Just listen to me! We can-" Opening his mouth at an inhuman size, the purple-fleshed man wasted no time in biting down on his aggresor's shoulder. Jungwoo made no indication that he was in pain, still pleading with his former friend. "Please, WinWin, I can fix this, I can..." 

"Jaehyun. Take everyone and leave. He's done." 

"But we-" 

"I said he's done!" Taeyong demanded, now crying as well. His voice lowered drastically. "Please, we need to go. I don't know what I'd do if... if you ended up like this, too." Jaehyun's face twitched, and for a moment Y/N thought she would finally see him display an emotion other than anger. He just turned around and flicked his wrists to the others. Doyoung followed easily, and them Taeyong. Mark, still hanging onto Y/N, pulled on her arm. Still, she didn't move. 

"Y/N, come on, you don't want to see this." She was frozen, watching in horror as Jungwoo was eaten alive. WinWin wasn't himself anymore- whatever that was was long gone. She stared as Jungwoo begged for him to come to his senses, even as his blood spilled and his intestines fell out of his stomach, pieces of him flying in every direction. Finally, something covered her eyes. 

Mark had placed a hand on her face. Trapped in the darkness, she knelt to the ground, throwing up in the dirt, still unseeing. When he was sure she had finished, he jammed an elbow under her knees, awkwardly picking her up and beginning to run. Even over the sound of his boots in the dirt, she could make out the last requests of Jungwoo, still trying to atone for whatever unknown sin had been committed. 

The score had been settled. 


	18. Tattoos and Trouble

Five days. That's how long it had been since they'd seen Taeil. 

Four days. That's how long it had been since they had watched Jungwoo get eaten alive. 

Zero days. That's how long it had been since any of them thought about it. 

They were satisfied with how much of the city they had searched, and honestly, none of them wanted to stay a second longer. When they made it back to the van, they were unsure of what to do. Taeil and Jungwoo were really the only members who were good at driving. Y/N could do it, but she was still having a borderline panic attack. She had thrown up two more times on their way back, and was only able to stop because of the lack of food in her stomach. 

They sat in the car, silent as she stared at the wheel. 

"Y/N, I can try and drive if you want." Taeyong said. "Really, I watched Taeil do it all the time, I'm sure I could figure it out." 

"I don't know if that's a good idea." She muttered, looking down, ashamed at her pathetic display. 

"I have to agree with her on that one, there's no use in us getting into a car accident." Jaehyun said, leaning forward. Shaking her head and trying to snap out of it, she forced a smile. 

"Really, I'll be fine. I can drive- where are we headed?" 

"Back to Johnny's." Taeyong said. He hadn't explained his reasoning for this, but no one was really in the mood to argue. Putting the car in drive, she set off. 

Since then, they had made it to Johnny and were now getting their tattoos fixed. Again. He had offered to let them stay there for as long as they needed. Jaehyun was against this, demanding that they had to find Taeil, but Johnny was insistent that he would be fine. That being said, she wasn't expecting them to stay this long. It was only on the fourth day that they even started the tattoos. She guessed everyone just needed some time. 

The sun was just setting, bathing the area in what felt like a menacing orange glow. Taeyong was getting his line done first. It took more than a moment for each person, both because of the sanitation, as well as the fact that each was likely to have a conversation with Johnny. After all, he hadn't actually interacted with them much since they had arrived.

They were sitting around the fire, much like they had not even a week before when they came to get tattoos. Y/N was staring into the flames, struggling within her own mind. There was so much to think about, and yet she didn't want to consider any of it. It was a constant fight within her head to keep herself from letting the reality crash down. Of course she hadn't known these boys long, but they were already so ingrained as a part of her that to lose any of them was a living nightmare. 

This world was cruel and awful and terrible, and it had taken three people from her, undoubtedly more from the others. It was the world that was turning Mark from a cheerful kid into a walking anger issue. It was the world that shut Jaehyun off from his emotions. It was the world that was forcing Taeyong to step up well beyond his comfort zone. It was the world that ripped friends apart, the world that dumped Taeil in the desert alone. She hated it. 

Thankfully, the distraction that she was unable to create for herself appeared in the form of another victim. 

"Hey. How are you holding up?" Mark came and sat down next to her, leaving an overly large distance. Whether he was worried for her discomfort or his own, he was obviously nervous. 

"Fine, I guess. Just hoping that Taeyong lets us move out tonight." 

"Yeah, me too. Don't worry, though. Taeil is resourceful, I'm sure he's already started a micro-nation and is ruling as their king by now." She laughed a little bit. 

"If that's the case, he might not even want to come back." She joked, meeting eyes with him. While she was giggling, though, he looked... almost sad. "What's wrong?" His brow lifted.

"Oh, uh..." Stumbling for an answer, his shoulders sank. "I just wanted to say I was sorry, for... you know. Freaking out. It's kind of my fault that Taeil left so suddenly. You were nice to me, and I guess I must have gone overboard... It's not like you belong to me or anything, we're just- it's like- we just want to protect you, that's all. " She froze for a moment, but broke out into a smile. 

"It's fine, if anything, I think you owe Taeil the apology." 

"You're... not mad?" 

"Of course not! You said sorry, didn't you? So it's all good." He smiled, leaning over to put his head on her shoulder, finally at ease. Of course, nothing could last. 

"Mark. Get in here." Oh... she supposed it was his turn for the tattoos. She watched as Jaehyun left the tent. Had everyone but the two of them gone in? And... why was she going last a second time? She was confused, but decided to let it go. She had much bigger problems to worry about than some silly thing like that. 

It took Mark longer than the other members to get his tattoo done. Watching the tent suspiciously, she thought back to the first time she had even come to Johnny's place. 

"Don't mind him." Taeil said, sensing her discomfort. "He's just strange like that. Plus, he's probably upset that we didn't bring Mark." 

"Why would he care?" She asked. "Are they related, or friends, or something?" Taeil shook his head. 

"Not exactly. Mark's just his favorite for some reason. He's never explained it to us. Still, Taeyong doesn't like them to be together for too long. I think he's worried that Johnny will make too much of an impression."

Was there some conversation they were having? Or was Johnny purposely taking his time with this particular subject? I mean... it was just a line, right? When he finally emerged, she walked over, asking, 

"What took you so long?" He shook his head.

"Nothing. It's your turn, go." She glanced over, where Johnny was leaning out of the opening, looks over expectantly. Unable to really do anything about the current situation, she entered the tent, looking around at the semi-familiar sight. The cot, the crates, the random scattered appliances- it was the same. The only thing that was remotely different was Johnny's clothing. Not in the sense that he was in a different outfit, though. Rather than his usual leather jacket, he was wearing a sweatshirt, and the sleeves were all the way down. 

"Aren't you hot?" She asked. 

"Have been since I was born." He smiled. "And that's some way to say hello." 

"Not like that!" She grumbled, embarrassed even though she knew he was just messing with her. "I mean the hoodie. It's like eighty degrees out." He shrugged. 

"So?"

"So, it's weird." 

"Just lay down." She did as he told, lifting up her shirt. Since she had gotten the tattoo, nothing bad had happened, so she was unafraid to receive the modification. He placed his purple hand on her stomach, pulling it flat. As he did this though, his hand twitched, digging his nails into her skin just slightly. 

"Ow-" She said reflexively. Gaze shooting up, but face stone still, he muttered, 

"Sorry." 

"It's fine." He started the line, but about halfway through he paused, picking up the needle. Not even a full second afterwards, his hand spasmed again, this time all the way up to the elbow. It was almost like a tic- it seemed like he could feel it coming. 

"Is something wrong?" 

"No." She expected more elaboration on that, but received none. He put the pen back to her skin, finishing the line. When he was done, he stepped back, looking at it. She strained to look as well. Surprisingly, the line was clean, despite the interruption. It looked like it had been neatly drawn with a fine ballpoint. Still, something was wrong- particularly with his left arm. Maybe it was coming off? Or finally dying? Regardless, she had to figure out a way to see it...

But how? There was no way he would show her voluntarily, at least judging on her previous question. He was definitely stronger than her, so brute force was out. She could try and check while he was sleeping, but... everyone was antsy to leave. Not to mention that Mark would be suspicious if she suddenly changed her mind and wished to stay. Finally, an idea came to her. 

Swinging her legs out of the cot, she sat up. Rather than get out to the side as she normally did, though, she put her knees on either side of his. She leaned forward, getting uncomfortable close to his face and meeting his dark eyes. His expression still went unchanged, tone of voice curious. 

"Can I help you?" She hooked a thumb under the bottom hem of his sweatshirt. "Woah," He said laughing. "Bit of a change of heart, huh? Aren't you worried your little friends will hear?" She gripped his waist. He obviously thought it was desperate, unaware that it was actually in fear. He leaned forward to softly kiss her. She hoped his eyes were closed as she clenched hers. 

Come on! She told herself. Just a few more seconds! She forced a smile, saying,

"Let them." With that, she managed to get his sweatshirt off with little to no trouble, Johnny raising his arms quite easily with some strange look on his face. It was only then that she was able to see his arm. Where the clean seam used to be, it was now tearing and strained. Not only that, but the discoloration was settling just outside the barrier. It was slowly, but surely, sickening the rest of his body. 

"I knew it!" She yelled, grabbing his elbow harshly as he coughed in pain. She held the forearm with one hand and his bicep with her other, trying to get a closer look at the issue. Eyes widening, he ripped it out of her grip, holding his elbow as if he had been burned. 

"You bitch! I should have known you'd be doing some stupid shit like this! Get out!" 

"No! When were you gonna tell us? What was supposed to happen? We were just gonna show up and find your dead body? Or your zombie one?" 

"I hadn't figured it out yet! That doesn't give you the right-" 

"Taeyong has been trying to help you, we've all been trying to help you, and-" 

"I don't want your fucking help!" He yelled back, shoving her hard in the shoulder so that she fell back, nearly landing on the ground. "I thought I told you to get out!" 

"But what are-" 

"Out!" Angry, she stormed out of the tent, leaving him to put his shirt back on and marching towards the van. 

"Woah, Y/N, what's the matter?" Taeyong asked, rushing over to her after watching the tail end of her outburst. 

"I want to leave." 

"Alright, well, let me talk to everyone, and finish up with Johnny, and I-" 

"Well I want to leave now, so I'll be in the fucking car." She spat, marching towards the black vehicle. What an idiot. 


	19. The Prodigal Son

Jaehyun was staring. Intently. Once they had gotten back into the van, Taeyong had lined up how they were going to search for Taeil. They knew he wasn't in the city, so they would search the path they took from the old breakdown site. If that was unsuccessful, they'd start working their way out from the area, likely towards the North direction. Again, Y/N was driving, which she thought would be peaceful. But now, Jaehyun was staring at her. 

Technically, there was no reason she would need to use the rear view mirror. There were no other cards, and no hordes chasing them. Still, she glanced back every now and then out of habit. On one of these occasions, though, she made eye contact with Jaehyun. She figured it was an accident, so she just looked back through the windshield, thinking nothing of it. That is, until it happened a second time. 

Starting to get irritated, she adjusted it slightly, putting it out of view of his face. He was in the row directly behind the driver's seat, so it wasn't too difficult. When she looked back up again, though, he had moved back into view. The corners of he mouth twitched as she glanced over to survey the rest of the passengers. Mark was out of sight, indicating that he was laying down. Doyoung was in the very back, practically concealed behind the boxes. Taeyong was directly next to her in the passenger seat, but his eyes were closed and his earbuds were in, the faint bump of the bass leaking through. Finally, she decided it was safe to address him. 

"What the fuck do you want?" She whispered, making eye contact with him in the mirror. 

"You know something, don't you?" He asked under his breath. 

"What are you talking about?" 

"Johnny told you something." 

"No he didn't." She could at least say that much truthfully. 

"You're such a liar, Y/N. I hate liars. It's hard enough to make it through all of this when we all have all the information. And now you're keeping things from us." 

"I'm not keeping anything-" 

"I don't believe you." 

"Believe what you want." 

"I will." This was starting to make her even angrier. Who did Jaehyun think he was? Was he satisfied that he was right all the time, even at the cost of his friends?

"Why are you such a jerk? I've never done anything to you." 

"I disagree." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked. Still, he didn't respond, only giving her one last look in the mirror and turning around. 

"Drive." 

She didn't like being told what to do, but what choice did she have? They were still looking for Taeil, and he evidently wasn't planning on engaging in any more discussion with her. Not to mention that if she were to raise a fuss, the others would notice. If they all cornered her and demanded the "information" that Jaehyun suspected she held, she doubted she'd be able to keep it from them. 

They drove for about an hour 40 minutes. They stopped three times along the way. Twice was due to the prospect of finding their missing friend. The first time, it war just a rotting zombie corpse. The second was a living man, but he seemed older- maybe in his mid-forties? He wasn't the keen on talking to them, and simply grumbled and shook his head when asked about a younger man walking around. The third stop was simply to refill the gas tank. 

Y/N was starting to get tired, legs aching to walk around. Their very few pauses gave her a minute to stretch her legs, but it was nothing compared to her longing to get out of the car. Hungry and fatigued, she became irritated that she was the only one who had to do any work. To be fair, she was the one who had to drive in the absence of Taeil, but the others could at least help her look, right? Her eyes shot over to Taeyong, who was no leaning against his seatbelt and breathing softly, eyes closed. The sight made her feel a bit guilty about becoming angry. They were all tired, she should be happy that she could at least do her part. 

Taking a deep breath, she looked back out the front windshield, she put her eyes on the road too. Oh, just in time, too. She thought as she saw an obstruction. If I hadn't been paying attention, I would have hit that... what is that? Peering into the hazy frontier, she tried to get a better look. It wouldn't kill her to slow down and look, right? It was probably the eight-hundredth bag of trash they had passed, but she had nothing better to-

"Oh my God!" She screeched, slamming on the brakes as she finally caught a clear glimpse of the thing. It was a human being, sprawled out in the dirt. Her scream brought everyone to attention, causing Taeyong to practically jump out of his seat. 

"W-what?" He asked, rubbing his eyes hastily as she threw the vehicle into park, basically launching herself out of the seat and into the open. Kneeling down beside the person, she saw that it was indeed Taeil- but... barely. Brushing the hair out of his face with the tips of her fingers, she looked at his face. 

His skin was dry and his eyes were shut. His lips were cracking and blood was drying around the corners of his mouth. The shirt he had been wearing when he had left them was hanging off his body. Although it was clear that the collar was stretched, probably due to him trying to get it off, it was also hanging off him as if he had lost weight. His fingernails were long and had dirt lodged underneath, and she saw no movement in his body. 

"Taeil!" She screamed, shaking his shoulders. His frame was so light. "Taeil, you have to wake up!" She yelled. 

"Hey, hey! Stop it!" Mark said, pulling her back by her upper arms. When had they gotten out of the car? She should have expected it, but for some reason, the sudden touch caught her by surprise. Wrenching her off, Mark managed to hold her as Doyoung put his ear near Taeil's mouth, hand on his ribcage. 

"He's still breathing!" The boy said, head popping up. "Jaehyun-" 

"On it." The man stepped in, hooking an arm under his shoulders and his knees. "Open the door." Everyone began to move back towards the van. 

"Y/N..." She could barely hear through the fog. "Y/N!" It was Mark. "I know you're scared, but you need to drive." 

"Drive... Y-Yeah, yeah I can- Yeah." He looked at her, then got up as well, running to the vehicle. She shakily followed, jumping into the seat and getting ready to go. 

"W-where do I-" 

"Northeast." Taeyong commanded, moving through the gap in the center of the van to kneel in front of Taeil. She couldn't see anything, as the mirror didn't bend that far down, but she heard them talking. "Hand me a water bottle." Taeyong said, popping the cap a moment later. 

Coughing. 

"He's waking up." Mark said. 

"Grab me an empty bin." Taeyong responded. Some more rustling followed, then another round of coughing. Then, the sound of heaving. 

"He's dehydrated." Jaehyun said. "If I had to guess, he hasn't had water since he left." 

"How is he alive?" Doyoung asked. 

"Don't worry about it now, we have to find a way to help him keep it down." As if on cue, the heaving began again. She wanted to close her eyes, cover her ears, do anything to make it stop, but she had to keep going. 

"Come on, Taeil..." She muttered, silently praying to whatever cruel god tried to kill her friend.


	20. Countdown

They started with ten. Dropped to nine. Then ten once again. Then eight. Then seven. After visiting Johnny, it was soon to be six. Was she now left to fear that they were down to five?

She had driven for as long as she physically could, but finally stopped as Taeyong put a hand on her shoulder. 

"Y/N... look at me." She turned her head, chin dipping in exhaustion. Picking up her face by the jaw, he looked into her eyes. Her eyelids were fluttering as she struggled to keep them open. 

"You'll get into a crash if you stay like that. We'll set up camp here for now." 

"But... but the ocean, and Taeil, and-" 

"There's no point in killing ourselves by rushing. Don't worry about it." Letting her muscles relax, she fell asleep nearly seconds later, slouching back into the seat. Taeyong sighed, looking to the back. 

"Jaehyun, set up a fire if you can. Mark, just grab the sleeping bags, no point in the tents tonight, it's a clear sky. Doyoung, throw something together for dinner, we've been eating nothing but cereal and shitty canned tuna for days. I'll put Y/N to bed and handle Taeil." The boys assumedly agreed as she heard the car doors beginning to open. 

She really wanted to get up herself, tell Taeyong that he didn't need to worry about her, that there was nothing wrong. Unfortunately, she may as well have been completely out aside from her occasional seconds of hearing. She felt him open her side of the car, picking her up with a sharp breath, and walking through the dirt and crunchy grass. Before she knew it, she was zipped up in her sleeping bag near the warmth of a fire, met with no choice but to pass out cold. 

She wasn't sure how long she slept, but when she woke up, there was a lot to deal with. First of all, the sun was high overhead, suggesting that it was close to midday. Her eyes and mouth felt dry, sticking as she tried to swallow. Looking around, her vision was blurry for a moment, then focused in front of her. 

Jaehyun was sitting cross-legged, facing away from her and looking towards where the fire had assumedly been (although it wasn't roaring at the moment). She occasionally heard the clink or scratch of metal... he must have been sharpening a knife. Other than that, she didn't see anyone else. There were two tents set up, as well as a few sleeping bags on the ground in the open- including hers. 

Wait... she thought they weren't setting up tents? Sitting up, the bones in her back popped, prompting her to crack her knuckles as well. Somehow hearing this, the man near her turned. 

"Ah. You're up." 

"What's happening?" 

"Well, you fell asleep as soon as we got here. Everyone else ate. Taeil started talking, thank God, but... he hasn't been able to keep anything down. He's not getting any nutrients or water. As much as he wants to, his system is rejecting it, so he's kinda been in and out." This caught her attention. 

"Can I talk to him?" At this, Jaehyun met her eyes. 

"You want to?" She nodded. "Fine, on one condition." Strange... still, she agreed, nodding curiously. "I want you to remember what's happened every time that I've warned you or anyone else about something, and then you've gone against me anyway. I respect Taeyong's decisions, I really do, but Taeil ended up this poorly."

"What's your point?" She demanded under her breath, glaring. 

"Hold yourself accountable. And don't make the same mistakes twice." He said ominously, pulling himself up to a standing position. "Taeil is in the blue tent. If you still want to speak with him." Finally, he left her alone, walking off. Did she? Of course she did. Jaehyun was just trying to psyche her out. Still... what could he have meant? She would have time to ponder it later. For now, she had a visit to make. 

"Taeil?" She called softly, unzipping the tent flap and stepping inside. The light was dim, just the little sun that managed to filter through the material of the tent. It smelled terrible, stinging her nose and her throat. This was presumably from the continued eating and throwing up. The boy himself was lying next to a crate, covered in a blanket. He thankfully moved just slightly, turning to see her. 

"Y/N..." He managed to stutter, voice cracking painfully. 

"Hey... How are you?" 

"...Is that a joke?" 

"No, sorry." She said, sitting down. "I just-" 

"It's fine, lighten up." He said. He opened his mouth to say something else, but it took him a moment to get his voice going again. "S-sorry, it kinda hurts." She watched intently as he formulated his sentences carefully, not wanting to interrupt. 

"I'm gonna die soon. Today, maybe tomorrow." He said. This caused her hair to practically stand on edge. 

"What are you talking about? Don't joke like that! You're here now, it's fine."

"I'm not joking, Y/N. How am I supposed to live if I can't eat or drink? I'm only telling you because I know you can handle it. Everyone has come to terms with it. It's just what's going to happen." Sighing, he coughed. There was blood. It was to be expected, but it still made her sick to her stomach. 

"I'm sorry for pressuring you." He said. "And messing up your relationship with Mark. I was just... alone. And afraid. And you help with that. Make sure you help everyone else too, okay?" She didn't know what to say. 

"Hey, don't look so down." He tried to laugh. "Like I said, it'll all be okay. I'm sure heaven is way cooler than this shit. I bet they have a killer highway." Tears started to roll down her face as she looked at his smiling face. He did look happy, but... how? Maybe he was delirious? He seemed like he knew what he was saying, though. 

"Hey! Hey! No crying allowed! You wouldn't wanna upset the dying kid, would you?" She laughed a little at this, wiping her face quickly with her wrist. "Have you eaten yet?" 

"N-no?" She said. 

"Go grab something. You never realize how much it really means until it doesn't work anymore." He joked. Not wanting to disagree with him, she stood, leaning down to hug him quickly before headed towards the entrance. "And Y/N?" He said as she began to leave. 

"Hmm?" 

"Thank you." Thank you... for what? She just shook her head. Taeil was definitely still a mystery to her. She zipped up the tent behind her, walking to the car. Maybe she could find a loose can of something, or if she was lucky, come across Doyoung to ask for leftovers (not that those usually happened). When she made it to the vehicle, she slid open the door, meeting Jaehyun once again. 

"Did you see him?" He asked, as if he had been expecting her. 

"Yes." 

"Good." At this, he handed her a Tupperware container. It was full of some sort of liquid- a stew maybe? "Yesterday's dinner. I saved you a bowl." 

"T-thank you!" She said, grabbing its surprised. As she popped the lid to smell it, the man lifted his head. Just as he did this, she heard footsteps walk up behind her. She turned to see Taeyong, water marks staining his face. 

"Taeil, he..." She tried to meet his gaze, but it shifted away from her as his bottom lip struggled to stay still. She reached out to hug him as he began to cry. Taeil was gone.


	21. Dead to Me

"Where are we going?" Y/N asked desperately as Taeyong continued awkwardly pointing out the front of the car. 

"Just drive where I tell you." 

"We're going the wrong way!" 

"Do you trust me?" 

"Well, yes, but-" 

"Then just do it!" They were headed South- the exact opposite direction as they had been trekking this entire journey. They had lost so much, why were they backtracking now? Taeyong always had a reason, but he had also always disclosed it. 

"I don't see why you're hiding it. Why not just tell her?" Jaehyun asked, mouth rudely full of a granola bar. 

"Wait, you told Jaehyun and not me?" She asked angrily, subconsciously stepping on the gas. 

"Watch it!" Taeyong warned. 

"He told everybody and not you." He corrected. 

"Jaehyun!" Taeyong reprimanded him. 

"Where are we going?!" She demanded. "I want to know!" 

"Okay! Fine! We're going back to Johnny's!" At this, she froze, foot falling from the pedal, causing the car to start slowing. 

"No, we shouldn't do that." 

"Haha, see, I told you she'd be mad if she found out!" Jaehyun laughed. 

"You started it!" Taeyong grumbled. "Anyway, it's a final decision, you don't get a say. Now drive." 

"No! I don't want to go back to Johnny's!" 

"Well, unless you can give us a real reason not to, your opinion has been noted and denied." 

"Yeah, Y/N, what happened at Johnny's that's got you so messed up?" Jaehyun asked, leaning over and speaking in a taunting voice. 

"He's gonna be dead, okay?!" She screamed, slamming on the brakes and throwing everyone forward. She felt the eyes on her- all eight- but she didn't know what to do. Her fingers were locked on the wheel, breathing heavily as she stared down at her feet. 

"Dead?" Doyoung asked quietly. 

"What are you talking about, Y/N, why would he be dead?" Mark asked, half laughing as he tried to lighten the mood. 

"His arm... it was changing. The last time we were there. You didn't notice the sweatshirt?" 

"Sometimes Johnny does strange things, Y/N, that doesn't mean-" 

"I saw it, okay?" She yelled. "I saw it and he was turning and he's gonna be dead! Just don't make me go back there! I don't wanna see it! I tried to save him, his dumb ass didn't want to be saved! So can we please just leave it alone?" 

"No." Mark cut in. "We're not just going to leave him there to die." 

"Either get back on the road, or get out of the fucking driver's seat and I'll do it myself." Taeyong agreed. She jerked her head up. He had never sounded so angry before. It was... scary. 

"Actually, I have to agree with Y/N on this one." Jaehyun argued. "If he's done, he's done, what kind of chances are we taking by going back? We're putting our lives at risk for nothing." 

"Nothing? Johnny's nothing to you?" Mark stood as best as he could with the low ceiling. "We get it, the world's a dump and you don't give a shit about anyone, but some of us actually have feelings!" 

"Are you kidding me?" He argued back. "I give a shit about you guys, I'm not going to put your lives in danger over a lost cause!" 

"Just shut your mouth, Jae!" He yelled, glaring at Y/N. "Fucking go already." She didn't really see much of a choice. Her stomach sinking, she reluctantly took her foot off the brake. The rest of the ride was completely silent, so much so that it was making her uncomfortable. She couldn't hear a single sigh or breath over the rumbling of the engine. No one wanted to talk, and everyone was upset. As for her, she was just terrified of what they'd find when they arrived.

When they pulled up, Johnny had definitely heard them, as he came out of his tent to greet them. He was wearing a different sweatshirt, but still with long sleeves. Judging by the bags under his eyes, it was only getting worse. 

"Ah, gentlemen." He started s Taeyong led the others out of the car. "What a surprise. Can I help you?" 

"Cut the shit, Johnny, we know what's going on." He countered. Expression still, but eyes shifting ever so slowly, he looked at Y/N. 

"So I see we have a bit of a tattletale on our hands." 

"Johnny, we-" he tried to start. 

"No. You, come with me." He pointed. 

"Me?" Y/N asked. 

"Did I stutter? Come on. You stay there." He pointed at Taeyong. 

"What? I-"

"Stay." She followed him to his tent, instinctively pulling her shirt down as a means of keeping her hands busy. It was as familiar as ever. She sat down on the cot as he took his usual place on the crate. Glaring, he muttered, 

"I can't believe you. You knew what was happening, and you still let them come here?" 

"I couldn't stop them! That's why I told them. Jaehyun wanted to move on, but Mark, he-" 

"Of course Mark brought you back." He put a hand over his face. "Shit. You all have to get out of here. There isn't a lot of time." 

"Look, Johnny, I'm sorry for-" 

"No." 

"...Excuse me?" 

"You don't get to be sorry. You can be sorry for rejecting Taeil, you can be sorry for fighting with Jaehyun, or for stealing from Jungwoo, or for Haechan and Yuta, but you do not get to be sorry for me." 

"I'm not sorry for you, I was trying to say sorry for-" 

"No, you are being sorry for me. If you actually cared about your actions, you wouldn't have done it in the first place." 

"That's not-" 

"Say what you want. Apology not accepted. Just get out of my camp and never come back."

"Johnny, I-" Corners of his lips twitching, he reached forward and picked up a knife off of the crate. Pulling his hoodie off in one swift movement, he held it up to his chest, tracing the lines of his tattoo. 

"I thought you were a good person. I really did. I thought that maybe you were just what these boys needed. A little bit of weakness, a little bit of sense- round them out, you know?" Laughing, he shook his head. "I should have known it was too good to be true." 

"What are you saying?" 

"I mean, none of my boys were dropping like flies before you showed up. It begs the question- correlation, or causation?" He held the tip up to her name. "I'm sorry I ever wrote you into their story." 

"Johnny." She warned, trying to slowly move and get the blade away from him. 

"Good thing I can take it out." In a quick flick of his wrist, he pressed the tip into his flesh, turning it at an angle and slicing it across his chest. 

"Johnny!" What resulted was a huge gash in his chest, gushing blood. The thin metal had flicked a few drops of it onto her face. Frantically looking around for something to stop the bleeding with, she said, 

"Are you crazy?! You're gonna bleed out!" 

"No worries, I'd rather die human. You should try it- oh wait, a little late. Anyway, it doesn't even hurt. I did my own arm, remember?" He stood, putting his covering back on. "I need to talk to my friends, if you don't mind." She stood as well, needing to eventually leave. "Oh, and Y/N?" He said under his breath as they walked towards the van. "Just know that I died hating you." He turned to Taeyong before she even got the chance to respond. 

Her senses were blurry as she walked, unsure if the tears in her eyes were from sadness, anger, or confusion. She heard muffled voices talking in front of her. She heard Johnny explaining something, Mark crying, and she saw each man give him a hug. Finally, the taller rogue shopkeeper gave a somber half-salute, turning to walk back into his tent. She saw Taeyong put a hand on Mark's shoulder, and the words, 

"At least we got to say goodbye." 

Goodbye...


	22. Fearless Leader

"We don't have time for this! We're nearly there!" Taeyong was panicking as Doyoung stood under the hood of the car. 

"I don't know what to tell you, I don't have the materials necessary to fix a car battery. The marina is only a few miles from here, and there's not a closer city." 

"Maybe one of us can run and find the stuff you need at the marina. That way we can drive the supplies back, and-" Y/N started to suggest

"It's too dangerous." Jaehyun cut in. "In our experience, the coasts are always crawling with infected. Looking for a way out with nowhere to go- making that run alone is a suicide mission."

"We all go together then? And come back?" 

"There's no point, we'd all be there. It would be safer to just take a boat and go." 

"That's risky. With no food or water, we'd have days to find a place." Mark pointed out. 

"We'll take as much as we can carry, then." Taeyong decided. "Everyone grabs a bag, takes what they can, and we make a run for it." 

"That's insane." Jaehyun argued. 

"It's the best chance we've got." Taeyong countered. He was surprisingly calm given the mess they were about to walk into. She supposed this is why he was in charge. No matter what the situation, she had never seen him break. It had to grate on him, but what could she do? It was just how he was. Maybe he justified the suppression by helping everyone around him. Regardless, without him, they wouldn't have come nearly as far as they had. 

Jaehyun didn't argue any further, yet another testament to their leader's capabilities. They quietly started grabbing things- it only took a few minutes. It didn't feel right, leaving the car behind. It had seen the life and death of so many, pulled them from the brink of annihilation more times than they could count. Yet another member of their party left in the dust, they supposed. 

The walk was unpleasant, to say the least. The sun was directly overhead, microwaving them mercilessly as they stumbled towards the water. About a mile out, they started to smell the salt grazing the air. Sweat dripped down Y/N's forehead as she looked ahead, seeing Taeyong in front of her. Mark, Doyoung, and Jaehyun were behind, but she could vaguely hear their labored breathing. 

"Almost there." Taeyong reassured them. It was bittersweet news. To start, would they be able to leave knowing that all their friends, all their past fights, were rotting here in the dirt? It felt disrespectful, like they were abandoning their friends. On a more surface level, though, they knew what the coast had in store for them. It was only affirmed as the salty air changed to the stagnant aroma of a butcher's. 

As they crossed a particularly large hill, they finally laid eyes on the shore. The sand and the sound of the water was all familiar, the white clouds overhead almost indicating a beautiful day. Forming an impassible barricade at the water, though, were what had to be thousands of disgusting, purple monsters. It was the biggest horde she'd ever seen, jaw dropping as her eyes surveyed it. 

"Here's the plan." Taeyong whispered, snapping her out of it momentarily. "Do you see that boat?" He pointed towards the marina. Most of the ships were either clearly broken or had submerged in the ocean. One in particular, though, seemed nearly untouched, if not a little mossy. It was smaller than they would have hoped, but anything functional was good. The area was crawling with enemies. 

"We'll sneak as far as we can unseen. Once we've been detected, we make a mad dash for the boat. Jaehyun, Mark and I will defend the exterior. Doyoung and Y/N, you hotwire the boat and get us out as fast as possible. There won't be much time, and we've only got one shot." 

"I don't know anything about that stuff," Y/N argued. "I should help you fight, have Doyoung handle the ignition on his own, I'll just be in the way." 

"That's kind of true-" The boy in questions started, but Taeyong cut him off. 

"I said you were going in, end of story. Ready?" Ready- already? This was all moving incredibly fast. Taeyong looked to his three remaining original group members. Holding out a hand, he shook Jaehyun's, then Mark's, and finally Doyoung. "I'll see you on the other side." He smiled at Y/N, giving her a half-hug. "No sad faces, we'll be out of this in no time!" And with that, the operation began. 

As quiet as it was to walk in sand, it proved difficult to stay hidden. The zombies had a keen sense of smell and were very sensitive to loud noise, so they spent the majority of their worrying on keeping the supplies from clinking or shuffling. The boat was about a quarter of a mile from their starting point, and only accessible through the open field of the beach. They made it about a third of the way when the first zombie finally spotted them. 

"That's a go!" Taeyong shouted, taking off through the sand. He was incredibly fast- it took Y/N a moment to process and catch up. They were intercepted a little over halfway. Jaehyun immediately started blasting the heads off of the nearest perpetrators, trying to create a space for the two runners to make it through. 

"Go! Hurry up!" He shouted, mauling another. Mark said nothing, but was clearly just as focused. Doyoung managed to slip through just in time, still running for the vessel. He wasn't quite as speedy as the others, but he made good time. With the horde focused on the noise of the guns, he was the first to make it to the boat. Y/N, however, was stuck in the fray. Zombies were pouring in from down the coastline, attracted by the movement of their associates. 

She started shooting in any direction she could get to in time. Thankfully, they managed to keep a few feet of distance for more than a few minutes. Her heart rate rose, stressing as she started finding herself more and more overwhelmed. They needed direction, and soon. Thankfully, it came. 

"Everyone, aim your hits that way! We're gonna break through and hop the boat!" Taeyong yelled over the disgusting growls and squishes of a zombie fight. As he said this, the vehicle roared to life, kicking up water in a small wake behind it. 

"We're go for the boat!" Doyoung shouted over. It was still a good distance away. Thanks to a few well placed knife strikes by herself and Jaehyun, the two were able to slip through the mass and out the other side. Surprisingly, the zombies didn't follow... what were they targeted on?

Y/N's eyes widened in fear as she saw them continue attacking Taeyong and Mark. They hadn't managed to make it through as Jaehyun and herself had. 

"Shit!" The man yelled, fumbling with his shotgun. "I need to reload! Y/N!" 

"I'm fresh out!" She started to panic. It would take Jaehyun at least a full minute to get his shotgun back into firing order. Could the boys hang on that long? There had to be at least fifty zombies in their direct vicinity now, and more quickly coming. 

"Doyoung! Shoot!" Jaehyun shouted towards the boat.

"I don't have a clear shot!" 

"I don't care! Just do it!" Pulling a gun out of his own belt, Doyoung squinted, trying to get a decent lock on the nearest zombies. Taeyong leaned back as one. came for his face, kicking it back with his little free leg room. 

"We don't have time, just shoot!" Jaehyun screamed. Freaking out, the man fired into the crowd. Taeyong went under. 

"Fuck!" Doyoung jumped down from the ledge of the boat onto the dock, splintering the wood. He started sprinting over as Jaehyun began firing as well, now with a fully loaded arsenal. Pushing through, their gazes searched for Mark and Taeyong. Y/N finally caught a glimpse of his hair through the mess of bodies. 

"They're over there!" She yelled. Doyoung tried to push through, holding zombies back with his arms. Y/N turned to grab him as she saw a zombie bite down into his neck from behind. His face twisted in pain, but he still found it in him to yell. 

"Go! Get Taeyong, now!" Unsure of what to do, she took whatever orders were barked at her, using the space he had created to her advantage, arching down and grabbing an arm. Yanking it as hard as she could, she pulled Taeyong up as he gasped for air. 

He struggled to breath as blood came up out of his mouth. She noticed it on the left side of his neck as well- finally, she saw the hole in his shoulder, right above his collarbone. Doyoung's bullet had missed its mark. 

"Don't worry, we'll get you fixed up-" she started, trying to hold him up. His knees were shaking as he collapsed, and she was finally forced to set him down. Right next to him on the ground, she found Mark's body as well. His eyes had about as much life as Taeyon, and they were bleeding from roughly the same area. She saw his stomach convulse as blood poured out from his throat, coloring the sand beneath him- he had been partially eaten. 

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my GOD-" She started crying, trying to figure out which one to grab, how to take them both, how to fix them-" 

"Y/N-" Taeyong sputtered. "Go- Jaehyun and Doyoung, get on the boat, you have to leave, there's no time-" 

"I can't, you-" 

"I gave you an order, now go!" He had always insisted he wasn't the leader. That he was just one of them, one of the guys, just trying to survive with everyone. Why now play some artificial rank card. Before she could fight with him, though, she felt a steel-grip on her wrist. It was achingly familiar, although the first time she had felt it had been on asphalt. 

"You heard the man, come on!"


	23. The Final Bell

"Don't yell at me, you're the one who walked out right in front of me."

"My name is Jaehyun. I am running. And the bell is an indication as to when an area has been overrun."

"Get in. Or don't, run for all I care."

"Lucky break. She almost died."

"Hold yourself accountable. And don't make the same mistakes twice."

Jaehyun. The man who had dragged her into all of this to begin with. The man that she may have owed her life to, and the man that may witness her death. He had watched his friends die, his life fall into ruin, and now, he was dragging her away from all they had left. What to make of that? 

"I can't! I-" She had been arguing. Yelling. In denial. She turned to fight with him in an all-too-familiar spin, ready to tell him just why he was wrong, just why he was crazy. Instead of the stone-faced, annoying brat that she had been bickering with for days on end, though, she saw a wide-eyed, scared kid with tears streaming down his face. 

Tears. She couldn't remember a time when she had seen Jaehyun cry. Surely he had when Heachan and Yuta died. When Jungwoo died. Regardless of whether he had, though, she had never witnessed it. It was wholly unsettling, reminding her exactly how fucked they were. 

"Stop! For just one lousy second, stop!" He cried, wrenching her arm to pull her away from the bodies. "I have nothing left, Y/N, nothing! You are not going to fucking die here because of your harass attitude! Now get in the fucking boat!" He was like a five year old, whining when he didn't get his way. His shoulders were heaving with the strength it took to go through all of it. 

Suddenly, they were running. She didn't know when she had started, nor when she had passed Jaehyun, taking her turn to drag him along by his hand. Her eyes were blurry, her vision swimming. She could see the white exterior of the ship. They were going to make it, they were... they were gonna...

Stomach taking a dip, she yelped as she was dragged to the ground. Jaehyun had fallen. It was unclear whether it had been provoked, whether he was starting to break down from stress or grief, or he had simply tripped. She turned to kneel overtop of him, shaking him lightly. 

"Jae! Come on, you need to get up!" 

"I don't wanna die." He whimpered quietly, knees pulled to his chest. "No matter what I do, what choices I make or warnings I come up with, we all died. Everyone is dead. We're next, Y/N, we're next." His hands were folded close to his chest, as if he was holding something. Straining to see, the sky was starting to go dark above her. 

She didn't want to look up, but she knew it wasn't the clouds. The chill that surrounded her was a testament to that. She forced Jaehyun to look at her eyes, taking his attention away from the monstrosities.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay." She said. "Don't you miss everyone?" He nodded, new salty tears still rolling over his skin. "We can go say hi, huh? We'll be right back to see Taeyong and Mark, they're just over a bit away. Doyoung too. We can see Johnny, I can say sorry for everything I did, yeah?" She was starting to make herself cry, but she kept talking. She felt the skin being taken from her bones, but strangely, it didn't hurt. Not like she expected. Through the tears, she finally saw what he was holding: a tiny, white object. Although it was now dirty and stained, she swore she could still make out the form of a mouse. 

"We can go ask Jungwoo what he's been up to. He's always been so protective of his projects. Or Yuta and Haechan? I wonder if they’re getting along. It's been so long. We need to catch up." He started nodding aimlessly, looking through her now rather than directly at her face. "You need to introduce me to WinWin properly. I've heard so much about him." Shutting her eyes and pressing her forehead to his, she shook as her muscles relaxed. She swore that somewhere, far in the distance, she heard a ringing church bell.

"Don't worry, Jaehyun, it'll only be a minute." Just a minute.

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed this story, the prequel for it is posted under @taffysamg on Wattpad, Quotev, and Tumblr. I'll be posting the best of my works over here, but none of the extra content. Thanks for reading, and let me know what you may like to see next.


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